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Astrid T'vali

"This is my dragon. He is called Stephano. I'm currently trying to sell him to the highest bidder. He's kinda fat. He'd make a good steak."

0 · 686 views · located in Lastra

a character in “A Tale of Lastra”, as played by HansenetteHeart

Description

Name: Astrid T'vali
Age: 20
Appearence: Image Astrid moves with a kind of grace instilled in her from her training from childhood. The young woman can move almost silently and has a graceful feel around her as if she's dancing. This teenager is a tall willowy figure but stealthy she may be, speed and agility is not her strong point. Her strength is what makes her such a worthy adversy. Stephano and Astrid rarely get along but you will hardly ever see one without the other.
Dragon: Stephano...Well, he's actually called Stephen but try telling that to Astrid. Stephano is a yellowy brown, a kind of colour palette you would find in a desert. He also wears a tie but that was "recommended" by Astrid. (Think Nightfury from How To Train Your Dragon type shape. :D ) Stephano is fairly small, he can still be ridden but is small enough to rest his head on Astrid's shoulder and wrap himself around her body without getting in the way. Stephano often folds his wings away until just visible so that they don't get in the way.
Other: For some unknown reason, Astrid has an odd affinity for fluffy animals. Specifically, sheep. Astrid hates this fact and tries to get rid of the sheep. Still, she maintains that this affinity is through the fault of Stephano. Stephano is just as puzzled as everyone else.

Personality

Astrid is normally quite calm and cool around those she doesn't know very well. To the outsider, she is unfriendly, cold and merely a product of her upbringing. However, underneath professionalism, Astrid is a fun loving, excitable, young girl. As she didn't have the chance to have a childhood when she was younger, she now acts with immaturity and childlike behaviour with people she knows well. Stephano and Astrid are bonded (although rather unwillingly to begin with) and although both have grudgingly accepted this bond, Astrid still tries to half heartedly get rid of her poor dragon. Locking him in cupboards, trying to sell him to dubious restaurants, you name it. However, if anyone tried to take Stephano from her without her consent of even hurt the dragon, the young assassin's protective streak would come most indefinitely into play. As an assassin from a young age, Astrid treats murder and violence as just an everyday occurrence and pays it no mind. Because of this, her own actions are often violent and confrontational. Astrid also possesses a childlike mentality and often does not see the long term consequences of her actions.

Equipment

Weapon: Astrid favours long range weapons such as bows and throwing knifes, being very skilled in archery. Her bow is something she is never without, her quiver being a permanent part of her appearance. The young assassin also has a copious amount of knives hidden on her person as well as her chloroform laced gloves. However, when faced with an enemy at close range, she isn't too put off as her strength is one of her main advantages in a fight. Astrid can also use Stephano in a fight as he wraps himself around her by launching him at enemies.

Abilities: As discussed above, Astrid is skilled in both long range and hand to hand combat but has health problems that often limit her abilities. A serious illness she had as a child ruined Astrid's immune system, leaving her very vulnerable to most illnesses. This leaves her very frail at times and unable to fight to her best ability. Stephano tries to make up for these times by being a weapon in his own right and protecting Astrid.

History

Astrid's past is sketchy at best, being orphaned from an extremely young age and falling into the shadowy world of Riena. She has known nothing more than being an assassin and does her best in every job she takes on. Astrid avoids talking about her past but Stephano occasionally references to a great tragedy that happened to Astrid. Astrid never talks about this and Stephano is the only direct access to information on Astrid's past apart from a few people within the order.

Sample:

Two pairs of bright eyes took in the scene below them. The young woman's fingers tightened upon the bow that she held and the arrow that fit snuggly against her hand. The girl's long hair was pinned up to the back of her head, keeping the long locks away from her eyes. She had a bow after all. The weapon was useless if you couldn't see to aim.

"Are you sure about this?" The dragon wrapped around her body asked, curling up to the young woman for warmth. The girl turned to look at the dragon that was leeching off her warmth. The big round eyes that looked up at her did not softed her glare any.

"Of course I'm sure, Stephano! I'm always sure. I mean, when have I ever been wrong?" She hissed back at the dragon, jostling her bow so that it walloped the dragon on the nose. The yellow-brown being contemplated biting his companion but decided against it. She might decide to try and sell him again. And every time she did that, the dragon felt self-concious over his weight. He wouldn't make a nice roast dinner, damn it.

"Well, there was that time you tried to get rid of me by locking me in a closet." The dragon replied good naturedly. He spread out his huge spindly wings a little before folding them away again. That was the one thing he hated about this part. It may be quiet and calm but it was rather uncomfortable. Scratch that, very uncomfortable. Stephano rolled his head and trained his eyes back down below him. It was the same as before. The dragon fought a sigh.

"That wasn't a mistake. It was an apparently ill thought out attempt at getting rid of you. How did you get out of there anyway?" Astrid asked, glancing at her dragon companion from the edge of her vision. She needed to keep an eye below her at all times. She had to wait for the chance to strike. She couldn't mess this one up. Stephano looked up at her and raised a ridge that would be an eyebrow.

"I'm a dragon."

"Fair point." The girl replied, rolling her shoulders. Damn. A couple hours in the same positions really did a number on your muscles. Astrid fought against the pins and needles that were travelling through her legs by hopping softly from crouched foot to foot. Stephano growled beneath his breath and slapped the assassin with the tip of his tail. Astrid glared at the dragon who returned the favour.

"And that was for...?"

"I get motion sickness."

"Of course you do." Astrid muttered. She started to entertain thoughts of dropping Stephano off in a homeless shelter or something and running away. Or maybe selling him to a very dubious restaurant where the chicken on the menu is definitely not chicken.

"Stop that. I am not a rare meat and I find you insinuating this rather insulting." The dragon groused, eyes flickering up to make eye contact with his partner. Stephano rolled his eyes and squirmed to get a better look on what was happening below their perch. Still very little.

Not much else happened for a while. Astrid continued her mental plans of auctioning her dragon off to the highest bidder while Stephano tried to nurse his faltering self confidence and convince himself that, no, he would not taste delectable with a creamy mushroom sauce, thank you very much. It continued like this in silence until Astrid groaned softly and let her head rest against the cool firm bow.

"Seriously. Why do crime gang leaders take so long to do anything?" The young woman complained, eyes screwed shut. This was boring. And tedious. And oh-so-boring.

"Well. One. They are criminals. They aren't exactly going to flaunt themselves or their plans in public, are they? And two, everything must be planned down to the last second. You'll just have to wait." The sandy coloured dragon hissed below his breath, trying to encourage his companion to lower her voice. It just wouldn't do to be spotted now. Stephano refused to be spotted now after investing so much time into this.

"But waiting is boring. And I'm tired." Astrid cleared her throat softly and rested her chin upon the bow in front of her. Stephano felt uneasy as she coughed.

"You're not feeling ill again, are you?" The smallish dragon asked, his voice coloured with concern. For once, Astrid did not meet his worry with scorn. Instead she offered her dragon a soft sincere smile and moved to scratch him below his chin. The dragon moved into the movement and let out a little purring noise. The young assassin revelled in this tiny bit of affection that no one else had seen but Stephano. She didn't exactly exhibit affection too often.

"I'm fine, doll. Just got a little cough, really." Astrid reassured, her voice clear of her previous irritation.

"That may be so but last time you had a little cough you were coughing up blood and had to seek medical care. Forgive me but that was not pleasant. I couldn't eat properly for days because you had coughed your throat raw." Stephano replied, not harshly. Just a statement of fact. The dragon couldn't tell if Astrid was beginning to become ill but he most definitely knew about it when she felt like death warmed up in a microwave. Oh yes, he definitely knew then.

"That wasn't blood, Stephano, it was phlegm. And for the record, I still blame you for me getting ill." The assassin added, hand moving up to scratch her companion behind the right ear while her eyes were trained to the group of people below them.

"I'm sure your phlegm is always a delightful pink-red, dear. And how could I be blamed for getting you ill?" The dragon asked, amusement sparkling in his yellow eyes. This banter and (although somewhat tenuous) companionship was what made their relationship work and the dragon enjoyed almost every second of it.

"You used your dragon-ness and infected me with some evil dragon flu. Then you realised that it was affecting you too so you grudgingly took it off me. That's my explanation anyway." The young woman finished with a snort, trying to stop herself from giggling. She couldn't do that now. Not here. This was work. She was working. Astrid flopped her head to the side. But did work have to be so boring?

"If you are finished lamenting your poor little life, would you kindly lift your head? I am getting a little squished here." The dragon hissed between his teeth. Really, did she have to act like an absolute idiot all the time? She was an assassin! Stephano grumbled to himself for a while before scrabbling out from under Astrid's head to look below them. To his surprise, there was actually something going on. Their target was moving away from the rest of his companions and was heading towards the exit of the building. Perfect.

The dragon cast his gaze up to his partner and found her...not looking at what was happening. She has looking away from him. Ignoring him. The dragon fought the urge to bang his head against a nearby wall over and over, instead plumping for trying to get his assassin's attention.

"Astrid, lo-"

"Nope."

"But Astrid-"

"Nuh uh."

"Seriously, look ov-"

"Not listening!"

By this point, Stephano had just given up on gentle prodding and resigned himself to Plan B. The dragon readied himself, claws firmly dug into Astrid's shoulder guard. Then he struck out, as fast as a viper, his teeth nipping the girl's ear lobe none to gently. Of course it didn't hurt her that much but that didn't stop her reacting as if her had ripped her face off. The dragon hid his face against the sudden barrage of flailing limbs battering his scales. When the attack had ceased, Stephano poked his yellow brown head out and was met by the furious glare of the young T'vali.

"What. Was. That. For?" Astrid bit out, hand massaging her assulted ear.

"Your target has skedaddled." The dragon replied, examining his claws carefully.

"Wait, what?" Astrid blinked and peeked over the edge. It was true enough, the leader had broken away. The young woman did nothing to stop the wide grin that pulled at her face as she felt anticipation rise within her. "Well, hot damn. Come on, Stephano, we've got work to do."

With that little warning, the dragon pulled himself back into position as Astrid picked up her bow. Then she jumped. Stephano spread out his wings and both dragon and assassin glided silently over towards the opposite building. The young assassin gripped the window ledge tightly, eyes trained down on the target. Her eyes flickered towards her dragon who returned the look. The dragon winked at her and gave a strange look that Astrid knew was his version of a smile.

"You'll do great, love." Stephano murmured softly into her ear. That was when she raised her bow, readied her arrow, took aim, gave a little prayer to Riena and let her arrow fly.

So begins...

Astrid T'vali's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Talon V'lyn Character Portrait: Astrid T'vali
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((So this will take place the day after the sample. :D ))

It had taken Astrid a good long time to get back to Skyfall. A lot of walking. The reason she was walking was that Stephano (in her own opinion) was being a whiny little bitch. So what if she had tried to get rid of him again? There might have been creatures in that dark and dank forest that would have appreciated a fire breathing dragon. Or a quick snack. She really wasn't all too picky. But Stephano had kicked up a major stink about it and was being a totally ass about it. And had point blank refused to fly her back home. Resulting in a walk. Astrid hated walking. She also hated Stephano. She couldn't help but find an uncanny link between the two. Stephano made her walk. So as revenge, she may have "accidentally" stood on the dragon's tail. And dropped things on said tail. But these were just total accidents, of course.

"Of course it was, dear. That log could have hit anyone. Stephano cut into Astrid's thoughts, his voice filled with scorn.

"Stephano, love, if you use any more sarcasm, we're going to need a mop." Astrid mused, her boots clicking against the pavement. Ah, Skyfall. Her home, the only one she had ever known. She looked around and grinned, drinking in the welcome sight.

"I knew I'd get here eventually! Even if you were being a total prick about everything." Astrid remarked, as she hurried towards her destination. She had to report back that her target would not be orchestrating anymore crimes.

"Well, you did try to kill me. I feel I am slightly justified in my ire." Her dragon added, rolling his yellow eyes. He stretched his huge wings, feeling very relaxed. Astrid had carried him to Skyfall on her back and Stephano had thoroughly enjoyed the rest. The shadows of his wings gave Astrid the impression of being an angel. The assassin laughed at this.

"Yep, that's me! The angel of death." The young woman pulled tired body into a heroic pose and laughed at the shadow on the pavement. Ha. Her an angel? There was a snowball's chance in hell. And that was being optimistic about everything.

"Are you quite done yet?" Stephano asked, uncurling himself from his position and taking flight. Astrid watched as her dragon soared into the sky, stretching his wings out. Tiredly, the young woman raised a hand and grabbed her dragon's tail. Stephano flew in an arc in panic, throwing the assassin through an open window. She landed somewhat gracefully in the middle of the floor. She looked up, eyes still closed.

"Honey! I'm hooome!" Astrid stretched out her long arms and felt the welcome presence of Stephano wrapping himself around her lithe body. She opened her eyes and found she was in a briefing room. She looked down at her sandy brown companion and found herself staring into some very unamused eyes.

"Was that really necessary?"

"I like to make an entrance." Astrid replied, brushing herself down.

"One day, these entrances will get you killed." Stephano grumbled at his partner, tail whipping around to show his distaste.

"Well, that time we fell in on those two assassins in compromising positions almost got us killed." Astrid offered with a cheeky smile, reminiscing about all the people she had disrupted and shocked by literarily falling from the sky.

"Ah yes. My poor ears have never been the same since that day. Really, I never knew that so many words could be used in such a vulgar way. And really, again, was that entrance really necessary?" Stephano asked, snorting as he himself remembered all the people they had frightened.

"Well, I didn't want to walk in! I'm too tired for that rubbish." Astrid shrugged.

"The door was only two metres away from you! The dragon looked up incredulously at his companion.

"What can I say? I really hate walking." With that, the assassin turned on her heel and both dragon and woman were surprised to find a group of recruits standing behind them.

"Umm...how long have you guys been there?" Astrid asked, scratching the back of her head. Really, they could have said something to let her know there were other people in the room. Did no one have manners nowadays? One young man stepped forward a little and cleared his thoat.

"S-since you a-arrived, Miss." The recruit stuttered, his eyes drinking in the view of the bow and the dragon wrapped around her torso.

"Oh. So, what are you guys doing here? Where's V'lyn?" Astrid asked, propping herself up on the wooden table behind her.

"He's in t-the training courtyard, sparring with s-some of the other recruits." He stuttered, blinking back his fear.

"Ooh, that sounds juicy. Why is he sparring with you guys?"

"Indeed. Why is V'lyn sparring with the recruits? Other than to demolish your dwindling self-confidence." Stephano added, his large yellow unblinking eyes focusing on the man speaking. The poor recruit's confidence had taken a massive swan dive after the dragon had started talking.

"I-It can talk?!" The man asked, eyes wide. Stephano regarded the human in front of him as one would look at something unsavory on the bottom of their shoe.

"Just ignore the dragon. He's not here. Really. Well. Actually. Do any of you want a dragon? He'd make a good guard dog. Or companion. Or meal." Astrid stated, leaning forward on the desk. She was enjoying herself, the recruits looked terrified. These wimps will never last.

"Once again, I am not a piece of meat to be served with a salad side dish. I do wish you would stop trying to encourage people to eat me. And no. None of you can keep me. I am not an object or a pet." Stephano snarled at the group, envoking a strangled cry from one of the men. Pathetic, really.

"Phew. Touchy. Anyways, so why is V'lyn sparring with the newbies?" Astrid asked, playing with her bow. Stephano dismissed the recruits in favour of snuggling into the back of his assassin's neck.

"He said s-something about a-accompanying him o-on some j-journey." The man squeaked. Astrid leapt off the tablen having heard all she needed to know and gave the group a little mock curtsey.

"Why thank you for telling me what I needed to know. I know for a fact that most of you lot will never see me again. Well, I may see you again but you will never see me." And with a feral grin and a twirl of one of her arrows, Astrid flounced out of the briefing hall, leaving a group of rather shell shocked recruits in her wake.

"Was that really necessary?" Stephano asked, rolling his eyes as Astrid almost skipped towards the training courtyard.

"Nope but it sure was fun!" The assassin replied with a giggle. She raced round the twisting turning corridors until she reached the large ebony doors.

Astrid thought about knocking but quickly dismissed the idea. You had to make an impression on these new guys or they'd never respect you. So with bow in grasp, quiver on back and dragon suitably irritated and grouchy; Astrid reared up her leg and kicked the door open with a bit more force than was needed. The door flung open and hit the wall with a loud hollow thud. A moment or two of silence was created before the young assassin entered the room, her boots clicking against the flooring. She turned to face the occupants of the room with a cheeky grin.

"Honey! I'm home! ...Again!" Astrid looked around the empty courtyard.

“OH BUGGERY HELL. Am I late? I’m usually late for stuff like this...” The assassin pondered what to do. She was bored. She had no assignments. She had nothing to do. Following the band of people on this journey was sounding more and more fun.

"Don't do it, you insufferable fool. You'll get us both in trouble. And being on the bad side of Lord V'lyn is not a nice place to be." Stephano snarled with more than a hint of pleading in his voice. The young woman brushed this worry off and looked around the courtyard for something, anything.

"Ah ha!"

"Oh Riena, what have you found now?" The dragon asked, lowering himself to the floor. He stood on his four feet, looking at whatever Astrid had spotted this time.

"Look! The Lord is on a possibly dangerous journey and he forgot...his cloak!" Astrid grabbed a forgotten garment from the corner of the courtyard. Stephano looked at her with barely constrained disbelief.

"Umm, I'm rather sure that is not his cl-"

"HE FORGOT HIS CLOAK. It is my duty as an assassin to return it! Just in case he needs it!" Astrid finished with a flourish of the material and got in stuck over her head. The young woman attempted to pull the cloak off her head and in a decidedly ungraceful movement, fell flat on her back. Stephano rolled his eyes and launched himself to sit regally on her stomach.

"Holy crap, Stephano! I've been underestimating your weight."

"Please. Carry on your senseless mocking. You'll have a good long time to ruin my self confidence as you walk to Lethandrill." The dragon smirked, his eyebrow ridges raised and blinking innocently.

"I hate you, you scaly meal on legs." Astrid grumbled, pouting at the weight on her chest.

"I know. So, are you actually serious about this?"

"Course I am! I mean, when have I ever been wrong?!" Stephano decided not to deign that with an answer and simply stretched out his wings, allowing Astrid to climb upon his back.

"I still hate you though." The young assassin told her companion as he took off out of the door, trying to get a running start.

"I got that, dear. But just remember, I'm a dragon. We don't come with seatbelts and I do enjoy a barrel roll sometimes." The dragon told his precious (not that he would ever admit it) cargo in a tone of voice that was better suited to discussing the weather.

Astrid decided not to answer and entertained herself by sticking her tongue out at the back of Stephano’s head.

”I will accidently kill you if you don’t stop that and it will be funny. To me at least. Now stop acting like a petulant child.” The dragon grumbled a smile sneaking its way onto his face as he leapt into the air and took flight. Astrid scowled and settled in for the journey. Not that she would have to settle for long. She knew that the Stephano express was one speedy little bugger and before long she would be in Lethandrill.

So what if Stephano was still being a whiny little bitch?

At least listening to him whining whilst flying beat listening to him whining, being forced to walk. Astrid smiled happily and before long, their destination was in just on the horizon.

The setting changes from Skyfall to Lastra

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Capella Character Portrait: Khrae Var Character Portrait: Dante Fuuriah Character Portrait: Astrid T'vali
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"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"How about now?"

"No."

"...And now?"

"Ask me one more time and I will cleave the flesh from your bones."

"Can't do that when you are flying. It's unsafe to flay and fly." Astrid answered back, swinging her legs off the dragon as he sped through the air. Stephano fought back an angry growl. Sometimes, the dragon really wanted to make Astrid internally combust. Just for the giggles.

"I'm sure if anyone asks, they will understanding. I mean, I was provoked." The dragon half snarled back.

“Me? Provoking anyone? Oh come on now, doll. I would never do anything like that!”

”I’m sure, dear. You, an assassin, provoking anyone? How unthinkable.” Stephano’s droll response came back. He needed to concentrate but all his companion was keen on doing was distract him. Viciously. And continually. The sandy brown being just tried to ignore the assassin babbling on about nonsense on his back.

Yeah. That was definitely going to work.

"So, do you like puppies? Not to eat. Like to pet. They are kinda cool and fluffy. Not like you. You're all scaly and moody. And a prick a lot of the time. No offence, doll, just saying. I mean, making me walk?! That's cruel! And unusual. And unjust. And just plain mean. I am an assassin. I've got an image to maintain! I have to travel in style, by dragon back. Or by hell hounds. That would be cool. But they would burn my ass off. Literarily. Not so fun. So yeah! Back to puppies..." Astrid rabbited in his ear, knowing that it was annoying. She had no real question in mind. She was just bored. And what better way to pass the time than by Stephano baiting?!

”I will end the existence of all puppies in the world if you do not cease your chatter. I will kill your symbol of innocence and hope. And I will enjoy it.” Stephano snapped, unable to ignore the nonsense spewing from her mouth any longer.

"I'd always said you were evil but wow. Killing all the puppies in the world? Just for me? Aw, Stephano! I didn't know you loved me that much!" Astrid cooed, blinking innocently.

[b]"I do not love you. I want to destroy everything you hold dear. And then set you on fire. Then peel the flesh off your face. And then eat you. And if you turn that into another fat joke, I swear to Riena, I will evaporate you."
Stephano hissed back at his companion, hoping that threats would make her quiet for once.

Ha ha. Pull the other one.

"So much effort! Just to kill little old me?! I am touched! I love you too, doll." The young woman exclaimed, hugging the dragon around the middle tightly.

"Yes, all that effort, just for you. Really. Now stop talking." Stephano yelled, voice cracking. The assassin sitting on his back tried to hold back a barrage of giggles. After the hilarity had died down, Astrid sat back and looked at the sky. Another thing came to mind when she thought about it.

"I didn't know we had sheep in Riena." Stephano had to stop and think about this one.

"...Excuse me?"

"Sheep. You know, the fluffy white things, look like clouds. Kinda stupid." Astrid elaborated, speaking slowly as if she was explaining something to a very small child.

"Yes. I know what sheep are, you idiot. Why do you think there are sheep in Riena?" Stephano asked, mentally banging is head against a brick wall.

"Because. I saw sheep fur in the training courtyard."

"I spotted that myself. I believe it is wolf fur. Although don't ask me how it got in there."

"Ummm, nope. It's sheep fur."

"Astrid, I am most definitely sure it is wolf fur. White wolf fur."

"Sheep." Astrid grinned evilly. This will show Stephano why being so moody was a bad thing. You don't just ignore a master assassin. Especially if they are riding on your back. Extra especially if their name begins with 'A' and ends with 'strid'.

"Sheep don't have fur. They have wool."

"Their faces have fur."

"It doesn't fall off everywhere. I am rather sure sheep don't lose the fur on their faces."

"Maybe it does and the sheep just hide cos they are embarrassed." Astrid offered, innocent as a daisy. She blinked a couple times, her big eyes shining. Stephano mentally glared at her and Astrid had to try hard not giggle.

"Sheep aren't embarrassed. They don't get embarrassed." Stephano hissed out from between his teeth, finding the urge to drop his companion from a great height increasing. At an alarming rate.

"How do you know?! Have you asked a sheep? Are you a professor in sheepology?" Astrid asked on mock shock. Stephano threw a load of frustration down their mental bond and Astrid couldn't help but let a few giggles escape. This was making the journey ever fun. Not for Stephano but Stephano was just a spoilsport. And whiney. So Astrid didn't really care.

"And I suppose you have a degree in this sheepology?" Stephano asked, so much sarcasm dripping from his voice, there were almost lakes forming.

"Damn straight! Sheep are people too, Stephano! SHEEP ARE PEOPLE TOO." Astrid grabbed her dragon's ear and spoke directly into it. The dragon snapped.

And stopped flying.

In mid air.

The two dropped like a stone; Astrid screaming like a lunatic, gripping onto Stephano's wings for dear life and Stephano crossing his little front legs and pouting.

"The hell are you doing?!"

"You were being annoying. Now I'll letting you see what it's like."

"This isn't being annoying, this is being SUICIDAL. Now, glide, you scaly bastard, glide!" Astrid screamed as she pulled on Stephano's wings.

"...Fine. But only because the ground is getting rather close and I like my face the way it is." The dragon opened up his huge wings and drifted to a few feet above the ground. "Happy now?"

"Ecstatic. Jeez. Talk about PMSing..." Astrid muttered underneath her breath.

"THAT'S IT." Stephano suddenly rolled over in mid air, dropping Astrid to the ground with a thud. The assassin didn't have time to fall gracefully and landed right on her backside. The young woman got over the shock of being dropped and looked up at the still hovering dragon.

"What was that for?!"

"You being a complete idiot! When I'm flying, I need to concentrate!"

"Oh! Really! Well, if I had wings and could fly, I wouldn't be such a moody bitch about it!" A fire ball landed by her feet, setting the surrounding grass on fire. "And that was just uncalled for."

"I think I am very justified in being angry because you are just insufferable!" Stephano yelled back, eyes a fiery yellow.

"I think I am very justified in being angry because I am just a whiney bitch!"

"Don't you mock me an-ow! Was that a rock?!"

"...Nope." Astrid said, throwing another rock at her dragon with stunning percision, this time hitting him on the head.

"Will you knock it off?!"

"No! I will not and you know why?! Beca- Stephano. Who are they?" Astrid asked, voice dropping back to normal. She spotted a trio of people (she hoped, you could never tell) further away from them.

"Well. We are on a path." Stephano replied, flying towards the assassin, wrapping himself around her again. The fight was forgotten, just like all the ones before it and all the ones that were sure to come. Astrid looked down and Stephano was right (for once).

"Hey! So we are! Huh." The dragon rolled his eyes and prayed to any deity that might be listening to either A. help him or B. Get rid of this assassin he had to babysit all the freaking time.

"So, it is a rather logical guess that they are following the path." Stephano continued, ignoring Astrid's comment.

"I guess. So why are you here again?" She asked, looking down at the dragon's head on her shoulder. Not that she was complaining. Stephano was a bit like a hot water bottle and a blanket. A really sarcastic blanket. But you couldn't win them all, she supposed.

"Because if they aren't friendly, you're the bigger target."

"Oh. Love you too, Stephano."

"No you don't."

"You're right. I don't." And with that, Astrid set off to meet these three people on the horizon, all the while cheerfully informing Stephano that these people probably ate dragon meat all the time and that she would hold him a funeral back in Riena if there was anything left to bury.

Stephano cheerfully replied telling her to do impossible things to her own anatomy.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Capella Character Portrait: Khrae Var Character Portrait: Dante Fuuriah Character Portrait: Astrid T'vali
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Capella grinned cheerfully as the boy's attention was suddenly taken completely by the sword she'd stolen during her last battle. Yes, this boy was certainly dragon-like in his innocent eye for treasures. Again she thought of what a shame it was that he be born to such a boring, overbearing and petty race. Even if his temperament left a few things to be desired, such as cleverness and control over both himself and those around him - judging by the fact that he was trying so desperately to ruffle his master's feathers, she had a feeling his success rate was rather low, and she hadn't exactly found it difficult to absorb his attention completely from the moment she had appeared to him - those were problems that could still be worked out. Actually, she was impressed that, despite his Human heritage, he still had managed to reach such a high mentality. It was like finding a scholar amongst a race of savages, or a prince amongst a lower, baser crowd. While he was far from perfect by dragon standards, looking at him as a Human showed his true worth. Yes, yes, she could work with this, to be sure! There were many advantages that came with a treasure like this lad, even more numerous and more valuable than the brightest, rarest jewel in her hoard. Were she to lay claim to him before anyone else could, she could certainly make good use of him. Already, he was showing her the many ways in which he could alleviate her boredom, and, if properly trained, he might also be able to serve as a guardian for her hoard while she was away. Or maybe he could help her steal new treasures? A Human would certainly draw less attention than she did, and would be able to acquire supplies as well as precious items with comparative ease. And, although she was loathe to admit it, it was so tedious, just sitting in a cave surrounded by gleaming objects with nothing to do, nowhere to go, and nobody to talk to. Unlike all the other Humans she had met, this boy was actually enjoyable to converse with. While she, a proud dragon, would never admit to being lonely, she wouldn't have to now that she had a chance to claim for herself some tolerable company. The boy wasn't trying to kill her, wasn't treating her like some sort of creature to be gawked at - well, to be fair, he had been gawking at her, but it had been for different reasons entirely, and had been done in the same manner as he would stare at a suitably attractive member of his own species, which technically didn't count - and was actually trying his best to treat her with at least some level of respect, something it was pretty clear was somewhat foreign to him. That effort alone, even if it hadn't exactly worked, given his childish and innocent nature, was enough to satisfy the Dragoness. And so, perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if she were to procure for herself a pet Human? It would certainly be a new and interesting divergence from her usual trinkets and precious things.

But therein lay the problem. After all, it was pretty plain to see that this boy was already, in some manner, bound to the other traveler, Khrae. That man seemed dangerously single-minded, and, in the event that she were to claim his student for her hoard, she had a feeling that he would intervene. She would have a great deal more trouble stealing from under his watchful eye than she did taking what she wished from most Humans. She would need a plan, and a situation that was advantageous to her in which to set it into motion. Naturally, the first thought that struck her was to simply take the man by surprise and snatch the boy outright in a moment of opportunity. And yet, that's exactly what Khrae would expect her to do, was it not? He seemed very knowledgeable, especially of her kind. He had predicted her little mind games even before she had set them into motion, and identified her purpose with a single glance. Surely he'd notice if she, say, tried to abduct his student while he was attending whatever meeting it was the two of them were traveling to. And, although her hoard was well hidden, she had no means of knowing what method of tracking down the boy this man, with his strange powers, might possess. Capella was a very prudent dragon, and, even for this goal's immediate achievement, she wasn't willing to risk both her own safety, and the safety of her precious things, in a prospective battle where she'd have nowhere to run. Even if she was confident enough in her own strength, there was no telling what might happen to her treasure, and that was an uncertainty that absolutely could not be tolerated. In that case, she'd need a different plan. Well, in that case, she supposed there were a few other options. There were plenty of Human customs by which one person could be bound to another. An apprenticeship like the boy's was just one of those. Yet, she had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to weasel her way into Khrae's position, which left this course of action entirely out of the question. But maybe another, similar social convention could be utilized? Hmm... Could she made the boy swear an oath of fealty to her? Perhaps she could, either by cunning or through charm, make him sign himself into her servitude, or cause him to submit to a geas under which he'd have to be recognized as her possession? Or maybe a sworn brotherhood - no, this was out of the question. She liked the boy's dragon-like mentality, but she wouldn't become family to a Human. Similarly, courses of action such as adoption, marriage, a protectorate, or other similar mandates were all immediately crossed off the list. She didn't know much about Human familial relations, but all of these were pretty clearly not what she had in mind. Aww, curse it, she couldn't think of anything else! Well, actually, that wasn't entirely true. There was one other option, but that was so disgraceful as to be completely unthinkable. She was a dragon. Even if she was pressed for options, under no circumstance would she even consider abandoning her freedom just because of a particularly attractive treasure. She lived as she liked now. She would never give that life up, least of all to a Human, no matter how dragon-like that Human might be! Not after she'd fought so hard to attain that liberty.

But in that case, what was there to be done...? The way she saw it, all she could do at the moment was keep on her current course. If she stayed with the traveling party, she could at least get a feel for the treasure she right now so craved, as well as for the mind of its current owner. If she did that, then maybe she'd be able to come up with a plan to claim her prize? At the same time, she could also slowly gain the trust of both the boy and the old man, which would give her the advantage later when she decided to finally make her move. She didn't like the prospect of simply biding her time, being a very impatient dragon with a peerless craving for both treasure and entertainment, but right now, it seemed to Capella like that was the only option. She sighed slightly. I suppose that means I'll have to abandon the plan of "Distract boy, then grab him and fly off. When he asks what you're doing, tell him you're heading to Lethandrill ahead of Khrae, and making him walk is just a plan to annoy him. Then abruptly change plans and abduct the boy once he grows complacent, and make him part of your hoard." A shame. His reaction to that would have been worth his body weight in gold. In that case, I'll need another distraction. Fortunately, I have an idea, and better yet, this kid is dragon enough for it to work. You know, it was admittedly my best practical joke of all time, but I never thought the sheep incident would be useful for my plans after this many years, Capella thought, smirking as an idea came to her.

"Thanks for the compliment," Capella replied as the boy sized up the sword. "I only just got it. Knights are always fun to play with, but that one was even more worthwhile than usual. Here, want to see it? I'm in a good mood today, so I suppose I'll let you look at it, even though it's part of my hoard." Adding this by way of explanation and using her offer as a means of concealing the movement, she covertly shuffled closer to the boy, turning her shoulder towards him and detaching the scabbard from it while allowing her to place her head next to his ear.

"Your companion is coming back, boy. Just follow my lead for now," She whispered, spreading her wings to allow her to catch the scabbard with her tail, at the same time covering her face from view so Khrae wouldn't be able to see her lips moving. "I'll explain the plan later." Taking the sheathed blade, she stepped back, holding up the weapon so the boy could appraise it. At the same time, she took her freed up hands - using her tail to do things like manipulating nearby objects was so much more convenient than bothering with her arms, in her opinion - and stretched slightly, before rubbing her stomach sadly.

"Ah," She grumbled. "I'm so hungry, I could eat a whole sheep, probably without even skinning it first. Have you tried eating a sheep that still has its coat? Horrible, wooly things, those. Most unappetizing. The worst part is that to get to the juicy, tasty meat, you have to get all that fluff out of the way, or it just ruins the texture - not to mention the flavor. And you can't even just scorch the wool off with dragon flames, 'cause then the rest of the body lights on fire and burns to ashes! Like any dragon, I love a good sheep now and again, but it's so annoying, all the preparations you have to do before you can eat them." She stopped for a moment, as though pondering the very serious dilemma of the consumption of sheep by dragons. "But, I'm getting a little carried away. Point is, do you guys have anything to eat? I'm staaaaaarviiiiiing!~" The Dragoness declared loudly.

(H.H.)"You're hungry? Then, you, my friend, are in luck! I have here a prime dragon steak! You're gonna have to cut off all the...fat and sarcasm to get to it, but I'm sure it's in there. Somewhere," Said a voice from behind Capella, who, without thinking, replied without missing a beat.

"No thanks. I'm not a cannibal, and even if I was that desperate, I would think a dragon's hide would be much harder to skin than a sheep's meager coat," The Dragoness said dismissively. "Anyway, where was I-" She stopped abruptly, as though only just realizing a few important things. Firstly, that voice had come from behind her, and had been female. That meant somebody new had just showed up. Secondly, they apparently had a dragon, which was apparently alive, and were trying to sell it to her as food...?

"Wait, what?" Capella said, for a moment actually confused into abandoning her usual deadpan as she did a double take, spinning about to see just who exactly was behind her. The Dragoness' incredulous gaze fell upon a somewhat unexpected sight: a young girl with violently red hair, clad in a simple suit of golden armor, around whose shoulders was indeed wrapped a young, rather chubby red dragon, who, to Capella's amazement, didn't even seem overly concerned with the girl's brazen treatment of him, and who was instead arguing quietly with the girl over what was evidently a very normal point of conversation for them.

"Really. You're going back to the fat jokes?" The dragon asked irritably, deadpan.

"Yes. Now shut up, Stephano. I'm trying to make a sale. Or not. Maybe I'll give you away as a freebie." The girl's reply should have been enough of an insult to the dragon's pride to enrage him, yet, as Capella watched, the big red lug just passed it off with a sarcastic joke. Just what kind of dragon was this, that he'd stoop so low as allowing himself to be insulted so by a Human? Had he no pride? Honestly, she couldn't believe what she was looking at. This was the first dragon she'd seen since she had started her wild and free wanderings? This "Stephano" - what kind of name was that for a dragon, anyway? - was content with just being an oversized, scaly mantle and possible emergency ration/bargaining piece for some random Human girl? Who was whose hoard in this situation, and in what way could this shameless serpent justify the arrangement? It was pitiful just to look at. She was just glad that the dragon wasn't of her own tribe, or of an even remotely similar color. Had he been, she probably would have died from the shame against her blood - or what was left of it. Then again, all things considered in her own personal situation, she could hardly be said to be much better a representative of her kind than this lazy lout, but that wasn't something the proud Dragoness liked to think about. In any case, she had a feeling she knew what sort of ties bound this girl and her servile beast. Dragon Rider, huh? The mere thought disgusted her. To think that such a creature existed, who would abandon his tribe, his pride, and his very nature to serve a lowly Human... How pathetic.

"I am so honoured that you think so much of me, dear."

"Be quiet, fatty. The grown ups are talking." Clapping her hand over the dragon's mouth, the red-haired girl turned back to the group in front of her, only to begin flailing about and making a wide variety of noises ranging from disgusted squeaks to angry shouts a moment later as, evidently, the scaled carpet on her shoulders decided to lick her palm instead of perhaps biting a finger off in retaliation. Was this even a dragon to begin with?

"Not to interrupt your little moment," Capella called pointedly, interrupting their little conversation. There was none of the innocent, carefree tone she had used before on the boy left in her words, and her demeanor had suddenly become a very bitter, cold mask of distrust. In an instant, her entire attitude had been completely reversed. She wasn't playing around anymore. She was deathly serious, and wasn't trying to hide it. To those who had seen her antics before, this might come as a surprise - or, more likely in the case of the wiser of the two travelers, a validation of previous suspicions. Capella might have enjoyed playing around with Humans, but if there was one thing she despised above all else, it was to see the degradation of what was supposedly her own kind at the hands of such a low, base creature as the Human now standing before her. Rage boiled up from the core of her being at the very sight of this insult, and, if one looked closely, they might have seen faint black flames snapping and crackling across the surface of her scales. "But I'd like to know what Human exactly I'm looking at. Who is it who dares try to sell a dragon the flesh of her own kind? If such a creature could be called such, that is."

Evidently, the Human wasn't fazed by this at all, however. Perhaps her experience with dragons was so limited by the pathetic being that served her that she didn't understand how formidable a real dragon's wrath could be, as instead of simply introducing herself, she began boasting in a manner that made it seem like she thought she was the dragon here, rather than the other way around. Pointing rather rudely at Capella with one hand and spreading the other in a showman's pose - the effect of which was completely ruined by her trying to shake off the saliva her "dragon" had left on said palm - she began an altogether silly introduction, striking new and increasingly obnoxious poses - most of which just consisted of her drawing a vast array of concealed weaponry and trying to look "heroic," as it were, by dropping into several clearly embellished poses which might have once been actual fighting stances - all the while, and several times stopping to argue with her "dragon."


"I am the angel of death, the archer of pain, the ninja...of awesome!" She began.

"Is there a point to this?" Capella asked skeptically, crossing her arms as she was ought to do and raising an eyebrow slightly, her tail shifting irritably back and forth as the curving talons on her heels were turned slowly back and forth, slowly carving out small holes in the ground where the Dragoness stood.

"And occasional creeper," her pet, Stephano - in fact, Capella decided, she couldn't keep calling that thing a "dragon," as it clearly didn't possess the necessary mindset, so she would just refer to it as a Stephano from now on - interrupted. Capella didn't overly like his attitude, but she had to at least give him credit for cutting off that inane introduction. The Dragoness didn't know what this "ninja" thing was that the girl was talking about, but it sounded like some kind of herb. Probably the sort that made you sick if you ate it. Blegh.

The girl, meanwhile, had stopped her posturing and had begun arguing with her Stephano once more. She really wasn't very good at this whole self-aggrandizement process, was she?

"OK. That was ONE. TIME. I had no idea that those two assassins would be doing that. I mean, ewwwww. Some things you can NEVER unsee..."

"Should I even know or care what you're talking about, is this just a waste of time like I think it is?" Capella asked, her voice scarcely heard beneath that of the girl.

"I am Stephano and this is Astrid," Said the Stephano, ignoring the girl's arguments and getting right to the point. Well, that was at least better than this maniac's speechifying.

"I am the amazing assassin of amazingness named T'vali. Astrid T'vali."

"How redundant. Also, I'm fairly sure the Human concept of grammar doesn't work that way," The Dragoness snarked, smirking condescendingly at the girl as she struck a final idiotic pose, before abruptly dropping the act altogether and pointing offhandedly at the Stephano on her shoulder.

"This is my dragon." Hah. As if. "He is called Stephano. I'm currently trying to sell him to the highest bidder. He's kinda fat. He'd make a good steak. Or roast. Really, it's up to you," She finished boredly, her tone standing in stark contrast to the overly manic, bombastic introduction from before.

"Ignore her please. She is not used to conversation that doesn't include bodily harm, crude hand gestures or killing someone. And you are?" The Stephano said.

"Or boasting, evidently. She seemed quite at home doing that, if not very experienced nor creative in said department," The Dragoness added sarcastically, smirking as she swept out her wings and tail into full view, just in case she hadn't hammered home exactly who they were talking to quite yet. At the same time, though, although it was subtle, so that most of those standing around her might not notice it, she momentarily shot a glance at Stephano, a glare that was the complete opposite of her usual casual attitude. It lasted only for a split second, to most seeming like her eyes had just momentarily stopped on the creature before passing over him, yet if he had any dragon blood at all in him, then he himself would recognize the expression, although it came from a Human face. It was the expression of a superior dragon making plain that this was her territory, and that she would accept no intruders, nor insults to herself, her pride, or her possessions. If the so-called red dragon did anything to undermine her, then she had just made it clear that he would get no second chances to save himself. That glare, containing every last ounce of malice in the serpent's cold heart, was a declaration of dominance, from one predator to a lower form of the same.

In the next instant, however, it had passed, not even lasting a whole second. It was as though nothing had ever happened, and throughout the entire course of the momentary contact, it seemed like her face hadn't even changed its expression. And, in the next moment, she, too, had begun to introduce herself.

"I am Capella of the Elder Grey Dragons, the final and only heiress of my tribe. I am servant to none, and ruler of all things I choose to possess. I collect only the most precious of treasures, and own a hoard of at least 30 Szendats." The Szendat was a draconic unit of measurement, in essence weighing the value of a dragon's possessions. One Szendat was roughly equivalent to the worth of a small estate, in Human terms. And, although her hoard was small, she owned enough decent rare objects - mostly weaponry of particularly fine craftsmanship, or other such enchanted trinkets - to have earned the worth she assessed her modest collection at, if not more. Of course, none of the Humans in the group would even know what she was talking about, but it sounded impressive enough, and the Stephano might understand, at least, which would give a certain weight and validation to her earlier declaration of dominance. "My home is elsewhere, but my territory extends to wherever I happen to grace the ground by standing, or upon whatever winds I choose to fly. Perhaps you might know me better as 'The Grey Sword,' the title a few of your fellow Humans gave me after they goaded me into leveling their village." Actually, this title was fairly well known in the region, and it was under this name that the Humans had hunted her for the past several years. In short, she was pretty much declaring herself to be the enemy of the entire surrounding countryside, and she quite clearly knew it, and, in fact, reveled in the distinction.

"It's pretty simple, really," She added, abruptly sweeping out her tail and snatching the sword she'd only moments before handed to the boy. "Because I'm grey, and I have a sword. Not too hard to remember, really, although it's hardly necessary to." In the instant she had finished making her condescending, sarcastic comment, she'd handed the sword off to the boy once again, and, her smirk as implacable as ever, she concluded.

"So, while we're on the subjects of introductions, I think I should like to ask you what exactly you're doing all the way out here. A girl and her oversized, bloated salamander are almost as unusual a sight out here as I am," She asked coldly.

(Capella Trolling Count: OFFLINE. Capella Tranquil Rage Mode Count: 1.)

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Capella Character Portrait: Khrae Var Character Portrait: Dante Fuuriah Character Portrait: Astrid T'vali
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Stephano's hackles rose as he examined this "Grey Sword". He didn't not like this. He felt something was off. He felt as if something was wrong. The little yellow-brown dragon rose up, his heavily clawed feet digging into Astrid's shoulder guard, his yellow eyes glowing menacingly. His head was a little above his companions and he gave the other dragon a look that she would definitely recognise (heck, even the humans would get this look): I do not like you and if you harm her, you will die. She returned the glare and Stephano almost laughed.

She was trying to threaten him?

Really?

Dominance?

She thought she was the superior here?

She may have been an Elder dragon and he was only a very small, young dragon but he was not a pet and he was not going to roll over and play dead.

Besides. He killed people with Astrid. It was their job.

Stephano growled softly at the half dragon, half human in front of him. Astrid looked over at her companion and asked silently what the matter was, her eyes conveying her worry and confusion. Stephano, by no means tame (he still had the unfortunate habit of leaving his food entrails on the floor at night even though Astrid threatened again and again to rip off bits of his anatomy if he didn't stop it), was usually quite docile and calm. She was the crazy one. He was supposed to be the calm one. She moved round to scratch the dragon's neck, being sure to share some calm (the little she had) down their bond.

"What's up, doll, hmm? What's got you all riled up?" She asked, gently below her breath. She didn't want these other people to hear them. This wasn't for them to see.

"Something is not right here. Something is...hiding."

"Hiding?"

"Yes...something about her. And I do not like it."

"So, while we're on the subjects of introductions, I think I should like to ask you what exactly you're doing all the way out here. A girl and her oversized, bloated salamander are almost as unusual a sight out here as I am." The dragon questioned, chilly undertones coating her voice.

Astrid, in all her "I don't give two shits" glory ignored these and barrelled on regardless. Stephano snarled softly. Oversized bloated salamander?! Who did she think she was? Sure, Astrid got to call him things like that but she was Astrid.

"Well, I'm an assassin from Skyfall and Lord V'lyn left quite suddenly. Quite curious, no? I had nothing to do and Stephano here was being rather boring and not fun..."

"I resent that, dear. I gave you many exhilarating options such as going to hell or leaving me alone." The dragon interjected dryly, still in his raised position, daring this Capella to come near his Astrid.

"Yeah well, I've already been to hell at least twice and leaving you alone sounded too much fun for you. So I totally ignored your ideas. Sorry."

"You are most definitely not sorry. You hate me."

"That I do, doll. That I do." Astrid said, feeling a bit more secure now Stephano wasn't acting funny and angry. They fell into step and it felt right. Which was helpful because being awkward in front of an Elder Grey dragon was not on the assassin's to do list today. There was a loud cough from somewhere in the group and Astrid remembered that she actually supposed to be saying something of importance.

"Oh right! The why are we here thingy..."

"When we get back to Skyfall, I am getting you tested for premature Dementia."

"I don't think that's a thing..."

"Trust me, for you? They'll make it a thing. "Attention Deficit, Oh Shiny" disorder will also be made a thing. Just for you." Stephano answered, hitting her leg softly with his tail. He smiled a little dragon smile as he watched Astrid splutter fondly. The dragon stretched his big wings and rolled his neck. Stephano knew his wings were bigger than a normal dragon's and used this to his advantage, making himself look bigger than he actually was.

It was silly but it made him feel a little bit better.

Well, it did until Astrid gave him a glare that told him to sit the fuck down.

"You are ruining my aerodynamics." What's the matter?

"Oh. I do apologise. I really truly do." Stephano replied, his eyebrow ridges raised. Tell you later.

Astrid shrugged and turned her attention back towards the people in front of her, giving the group a blinding smile.

"I'm sure you do. Anyways. We're here to go to Lethandrill to help him and his party out." Astrid finished, spinning her bow around her hands. Stephano didn't answer, his gaze challenging the whole party before Astrid walloped him over the nose with her bow.

Stephano shot out and grabbed Astrid's bow in his teeth, as quick as a wink. He then looked up to meet eyes with his companion and had to force himself not to laugh as she looked as if he had killed her first born child.

"Let. Go. Of. The. Bow. Before I do something I will really regret later. Or not. I'm not sure if I would mourn you right now." The dragon chuckled in response, although slightly muffled by bow between his teeth.

"Really, let go!"

"What's the magic word?"

"Pleeeeeeeeease?"

"Wrong one." The dragon's yellow eyes gleaned with amusement. To hell with the people who thought he was a weak little pet. This was much better than his lonely days round the mountains, just flying. Alone.

"Abracfuckingdabra. Give me it BACK!" Astrid squealed, not actually feeling too angry. Games. They were playing their games again. To the outsider this would be a fight, to them it was play.

"Correct, my dear." Stephano quickly released his hold and Astrid's eyes widened as she stumbled. The dragon snickered as his companion made a face at him.

”Keep pulling that face and it will stick like that.” With that, Astrid pinched his soft underbelly and giggled as Stephano had a little panic attack and fell off her shoulder. She threw back her head and laughed as he little friend stared at the ground like he had no idea what he was doing there. Once the dragon had regained his composure, he nipped Astrid’s ankle playfully and chuckled as she leapt up in the air like he had set her on fire.
Astrid knelt down and scratched Stephano’s head gently, pouring joy down their bond. It was fun when they played their games. Especially when other people freaked out and thought they were going to kill each other. Well, a lot of the time they were going to kill each other but where would the fun be in that?
Stephano climbed his way back into his favoured position, Astrid lifting her left arm to let him get comfortable. The dragon settled his head on her right shoulder and they shared a little grin. Until, Astrid felt Stephano tense. Not a bad tense. But as if he was getting ready for something. She felt his large wings brush against her back and she sighed.

“Really?” Stephano gave his little dragon smile in response. Astrid rolled her eyes. Stephano did this when his wings felt “itchy”. It usually meant that he wanted to fly or that his wings were actually itchy. Astrid took a guess and crouched down. In her crouch, she swivelled on her heel and suddenly the presence around her disappeared in a large whoosh. The assassin stood back up and watched as Stephano stretched his large wings, taking up the sky. Well, the only part she was interested in. She watched as her dragon looped and rolled through the air. But then he started to get dangerously close to Capella in his dives and Astrid felt the agitation as he tried to warn her away from them both. Stupid dragon pride, she grumbled.

“Stephano!” She yelled, sounding stern. But it was not as it seemed as through their bond Stephano felt a pleading note in her mind. He grudgingly glided down to his companion, deeming her more important than showing that other dragon that he was not some fat salamander.

He glided down to his partner, letting her clasp him in her arms before he winded himself back into his place. He bumped his head against Astrid’s chin, trying to apologise.

“Play nice or I’ll turn you into shoes.” I forgive you.

”Really. I’m sure you will. Now, let us remember why we are on this obscenely stupid journey in the first place? To get to Lethandrill? That rings a bell anywhere in there?” The little dragon asked, retracting his long claws.

“Oh yeah! The cloak!” Astrid grinned before remembering something else. She turned to Capella and giggled.

“By the way, love, in my experience as an assassin? Grammar is usually only used by those people who aren’t man enough to pull the trigger. Just saying.”

Stephano fought the urge to stick his tongue out. But one of them had to be the sensible one. Astrid giggled and with a wink, she turned to the other two people in the party.

“So! Who are you two?”

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Capella Character Portrait: Khrae Var Character Portrait: Dante Fuuriah Character Portrait: Astrid T'vali
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#, as written by Centi85
Khrae sighed with the sudden appearance of the assassin and her dragon. At this rate he'd be getting to Lethandrill within a week instead of thirty minutes. Shaking his head, he looked to the girl, sizing her up, accounting for motives, and if she could be a possible threat, and concluded that for now she was nothing to worry about. Well, besides being a major distraction and plague on his young student's mind. Capella seemed to have lost all of her playful cheeriness with their introduction, and Khrae assumed it was because of seeing a dragon, part of her kin, treated in such a manner as they were witnessing currently. Back and forth they bickered, hurling threats and otherwise saying anything to each other that would normally cause a fist fight to break out amongst most other people, the dragon taking it all without even an ounce of damage being dealt to the pride most of his kind has so, or too much of. Khrae was sure that would merit some sort of discontent from the Dragoness, who had already made it clear how she thought of herself and her own kind, being above all other beings... Metaphorically and almost literally.

By the time she'd finished her flashy introduction, through constant interruptions to her posing from her scaly companion, Khrae felt as though he could've been to Lethandrill, completed his task and been back by now. Shaking his head beneath the heavy hood of the cloak, the man new that this was going to end up taking a while. The only thing that happened so far that was interesting was the girl's boasting about being an assassin. Astrid was her name, belonging to the order of Riena, which of course meant her higher was Lord V'lyn. Khrae had heard much of the man of course, and knew that eventually he'd have to meet him too in order to notify him of his own clan's acceptance into the order of the Vyldi. Perhaps the girl wouldn't be too useless as far as possibly being able to help Khrae in that task, but still she and the Dragoness lacked a certain modesty that the Phoenix clan so respected, and Khrae wasn't enjoying the idea of having both of them around Dante for too long, especially considering it seemed they were all heading to the same destination. At least that meant V'lyn was there. Maybe a consolation.

"This is my dragon. He is called Stephano. I'm currently trying to sell him to the highest bidder. He's kinda fat. He'd make a good steak. Or roast. Really, it's up to you," the girl finished, finally introducing the creature which clung to her person and who insisted on making her life as troublesome as possible.

Khrae raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Instead, he looked to his student as he suddenly spoke up. "Ohhh!" he yelled, bouncing up and down slightly. "I want a dragon!"

"No you don't," Khrae interjected with his usual dry, neutral tone.

Dante turned, having previously been completely entranced by the girl's posing, as well as highly entertained by the conversation held between Astrid and Stephano. He'd nearly forgotten about the world around him, including the fact that he'd been holding Capella's sword. The best part about the weapon to him was not fine craftsmanship, which was usually what people gauged first, but the fact that when he looked at it, he saw himself starring back. It was shiny and had a reflection. This new girl was flashy and funny. How did they compare? Dante wasn't sure, but either way he was thoroughly impressed by both.

"Why not?" Dante complained, snapped out of his trance as he looked to the elder swordsman. Dante knew Khrae wasn't that old, being just over forty, but even so the fact that he was older than himself and had absolutely no sense of humor meant that the boy could do as he wished as far as name calling. Besides, Khrae didn't care too much. Khrae didn't care about anything, except maybe meditation... and training. And stuff like that, which wasn't even worth caring about because it was hardly material, and so you can't really lose it... Like the sword... which was shiny and... and...

"Because," Khrae responded, snapping his student from the hypnotism that was his own reflection. "I don't want to deal with you and any sort of pet you pick up along the way."

"I can take care of a dragon," Dante said rather sheepishly, taking on his usual tone that was more of a thoughtful optimism than anything else, something he used when trying to persuade Khrae, though always in vain.

"You can't even take care of yourself," the man retorted flatly.

"I take care of the dragon, it takes care of me," Dante concluded, beaming now at his revelation. Besides, isn't that what they were for? Looking back to the girl with the hair that was far too red to be natural, he raised his hand. Capella was currently saying something about being the grey sword, which Dante had no clue what that was because she looked about as much like a sword as he did a... tuna.. er, something. "I'll take the drago--"

"Uh, no." Khrae said, cutting the boy off by coming up behind him and placing one arm firmly around his neck whilst the other held a hand to his mouth. "Excuse the boy," he apologized. "You may keep your friend."

Grey sword huh? Khrae was now in the midst of two people who definitely didn't need to be messing with the fragile object that was Dante's mind. Again, the option of simply knocking out the boy before just dismissing the others and carrying on occurred to him, but that was a last minute resort. As far as trying to make sure his clan looked good in the eyes of the Order of Vyldi, it wouldn't happen if every moment the boy was acting up, only to have his mentor lose his temper and give him a beating. No, he had to show the peaceful diplomatic side of the clan, which is what the members cherished more anyway. But then again, they never dealt with Dante. Alone, on the road for four straight years...

“So! Who are you two?”

No, Khrae mentally scolded himself at the fact that he'd recently allowed himself to forget the morals of the clan simply because of the boy's antics. He was slipping too, and that wasn't allowed. Perhaps once this was over he'd sit and meditate a while.. Pushing all else aside though, the man smiled warmly as he used his free hand to pull down the cowl of his cloak, then nodded to the girl as her attention was diverted away from the Dragoness' introduction, to himself and Dante.

"I am Khrae Var. Swordsman and representative of The Clan of Phoenix. This is my student, Dante Fuuriah."

From his position as a captive in the powerful man's arms, Dante waved a hand as Khrae introduced him, mumbling something that turned into a sudden muffled cry of distress as the man increased pressure on the boy's neck before allowing him to be set free. Falling forward, Dante coughed and sputtered a moment as he regained himself before looking up. "Clan of the Phoenix, heck yeah! We're the most powerful of all!"

Khrae shook his head, looking from the boy to the girl again. "We're on our way to Lethandrill currently, the first of many stops as we make our rounds to all the orders. We've only just secured a spot within the Order of Vyldi, and have been dispatched to notify the other orders of our presence, as well as introduce them to ourselves. I will be meeting with your Lord at point or another, and considering we're heading to the same place, I'll assume that we'd run into him there."

"Idiots think we're mages," Dante said, scoffing as he took to his feet again. "We're not."

Khrae rolled his eyes, waving a dismissive hand. "Yes, well. Either way, if we could continue on... We've stalled enough as it is. Astrid, if you wouldn't mind locating Lord V'lyn when we arrive and if he's not busy, I'd very much like to speak with him."

"Ohhh can I talk to him?!" Dante questioned.

"You may accompany me, but you may not speak." Khrae answered. "Now then," looking up to the two women and Stephano, he nodded down the road. "Shall we proceed?"

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Character Portrait: Capella Character Portrait: Khrae Var Character Portrait: Dante Fuuriah Character Portrait: Astrid T'vali Character Portrait: Stephano
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Capella stared down the two who had just arrived, seemingly impassive to their banter. However, if one looked closely, they might realize something. Slowly, forcefully, her hands were slowly curling into fists, the black flames that had begun to faintly appear across her body beginning to condense, crackling and snapping around her claws as they almost imperceptibly extended along her palms, as though eager to dig into flesh. These imbeciles... Not only was their very existence a disgrace to her own kind, but that fat little brat had... He had realized it, for one, and for another, he had shared her secret with his pitiful Human master, hadn't he? Scrawny, insolent dog that he was. He knew, he had understood the message behind her glare, and had dared to be so brazen as to violate her command? So, not only did he have no pride for himself, but it seemed he would trample upon the blood of his kin, too, not to mention the honor deserved by his betters! Oh, true, she hadn't heard him say anything, but she had seen him whispering his observations in his master's ear. He had understood her... unique nature, as only another dragon could. And yet, knowing that had been such a mindless, slobbering sycophant as to reveal her deepest secret so freely? Worthless, arrogant, foolish, disgusting, snake-tongued, mindless WRETCH! As the Dragoness' rage slowly mounted, growing from a simmering anger to a burning, hellish fury, her eyes slowly narrowed, slits appearing in her amber pupils as her wings and horns elongated, the former slowly spreading behind her as her feet slowly, imperceptibly began to dig into the ground, the hard dirt crumbling under the weight of her anger as cracks slowly began to spread across the path, forming a small crater with her at its epicenter. The air began to feel heavy and cold as a quiet hiss began to emanate from her person, the black flames on her hands beginning to grow in volume as her terrible wrath, the full malice of an angry dragon, was made manifest around her. Even to the most foolish, ignorant observer, it wasn't difficult to understand what stood there, clad in searing scales, fangs slowly clenching into a grimace of fury. All joy had gone from the Dragoness' countenance, replaced by raw killing intent. There were many legends that spoke of how terrible it was to look upon an angry dragon, and, now that one stood before the Humans present, it was quite obvious that those tales had been right. Capella was absolutely livid, even if her countenance had only changed slightly from an impassive grimace of distaste to a hateful glare.

"Well, at least you don't lack in bravery, ugly dog," Capella hissed, the ice cold tone with which she spoke, her voice booming with an unnatural echo, clashing with the heat of her rage as Stephano rose into the air and began to buzz her. Any time he came close, however, a sudden, momentary surge of flames - snarling and crackling as though eager to claim the life of whatever might be so foolish as to touch them - would rise from her scales, forming a scalding aura around her, warning away the proud servant dragon from getting too near the one he so thoughtlessly mocked. "A shame it's such an inadequate substitute for intelligence and honor, or you might have actually earned the distinction of 'dragon.' But, I suppose courage has its limits. If any fly could become a dragon just by having the gall to tell meaningless tales, then where would the world be now? And yet, there are always those who try to ascend thus regardless. And, I'm afraid there's no other course of action available when dealing with such noisome insects than the usual. With that said..." The Dragoness' voice suddenly began a menacing snarl, more like a roar than actual speech as it boomed several volumes above its normal level. "Don't make me swat you, pest."

It was perhaps fortunate that the Dragoness' attention was solely focused on the two new arrivals, right now. Had she heard Dante's and Khrae's rather disrespectful mention of Dragons in their own little squabble, she might very well have turned on them as well. However, at the moment, her rage had been narrowed down to a single, focused point, directed entirely upon one thing: the foolish Human standing before her, and her worthless, impudent pet. If these two knew the truth, then Capella already realized she would have no choice. At the very least, she'd need to sever their limbs and carve out their tongues so that they could never tell another living soul of her secret. But, of course, there was a far more efficient solution to the problem as well. Although she had a particular distaste for actually killing Humans, if there was ever a cause for which she would slay a sentient creature - and, in fact, had slain before - it was for the protection of her deepest, greatest shame. Absolutely, above all else, she refused to go back to how things were before. She would never, ever again be toyed with or ruled over, least of all by these worthless, insolent, HUMANS! She was Capella, the last dragon of a mighty tribe! She lived as she liked, and did whatever she pleased! She took what she wanted and hoarded it away, ate when she was hungry, and drank whenever she had to quench her thirst. And when she wished it, there was absolutely nothing in the world that would prevent her... from claiming the lives of her prey.

"Proceed as you wish," She growled back at the two travelers. "I seem to have business here."

(Capella Not-So-Tranquil Rage Mode Counter: 1. Capella Foreshadowing Levels: Over 9000.)

The setting changes from Lastra to Lethandrill

Setting

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Character Portrait: Jennifer Live Character Portrait: Capella Character Portrait: Talon V'lyn Character Portrait: Khrae Var Character Portrait: Armen Sorien Character Portrait: Fukayna Muidrehd
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#, as written by Siryn
Talon V'lyn

“I never liked this place anyway,” Jennifer hissed as she grasped his hand and rushed for the courtyard where they'd left their horses. The massive energy was growing heavier with each moment and Talon had a terrible flash back of the old city Kingsburrow. The city had once stood proudly in Lastra, but when the attack of the 'True Dragons' (a rebel group at the time) came, their leader brought devastation to the city. The Old God Domieen had been leading that group of rag tag rebels then and Talon had engaged in a fight with him. At the time they had just realized that Domieen was a Dragon God. Domieen had almost killed Talon, and with the assassin the city crumbled in on itself. Had Jennifer not been there, bracer or no bracer, Talon would have died in that dark pit.

His hand tightened around hers in a silent motion of urgency. The assassin was sure that she didn't need any urging though. If anything she would have been the one to be pushing him if he were to so much as fall a few steps to far behind her. Torak's power was so immense that it was sure to be felt miles away from the city. Taking one look behind his shoulder, he witnessed the Steward starting to unleash the power. His eyes widened and he feared for the inhabitants of the city. Most had gotten out the front gates and had started fleeing into the outlying forests, but many were still in the city scrambling to get away. Amongst them himself and Jennifer.

Turning, he spotted where they'd left the horses. One was missing and from the throng of people, Fukayna was rushing back towards them. Talon gave a sharp hiss of irritation. That girl should have left on her own accord, no need for them all to perish in one area. Of course, Talon had no intentions of dying but still. Though, he had to hand it to her, she was quite brave and honorable to come back for them. The marble steps beneath their feet began cracking as they rushed down to the courtyard. Once they were to the horse, which had surprisingly hadn't startled from fear yet, Talon all but tossed Jennifer up onto the saddle before clambering up behind her. It wasn't the large comfort of a dragon's neck, but he would make due. Also, it wasn't the first time that Talon had wished to have Vy with him again either. There were plenty of times that the assassin dearly missed his dragon companion. There was an emptiness in his soul that even Jennifer couldn't fill. It was the emptiness of losing a powerful creature, a linked companion who had been with him for many years. To suddenly have him gone was very painful.

Taking the reigns of the horse in hand he directed the beast towards the throng of elves that darted here and there. He caught sight of Fukayna and motioned to her giving a sharp whistle as he went. A flick of his wrist and a kick of his boots got the stead into a gallop. He rushed towards the other assassin and jerked his head towards the gates.

"You shouldn't have come back!" He yelled at Fukayna, but it was the only thing he said to her about her decision. Talon maneuvered the beast through the elven citizens on foot carefully. If he could help them all escape, he would have. However, there was no possible way to do so and he had two women of importance to take care of first. Talon had long since lost sight of the beggar who had jumped into the fight, though he hoped that the man had sense enough to leave the area. When the magic quieted down, Talon was going to come back and investigate. That was, if there was anything left to see in the first place.

A deep rumbled filled the air, sounding much like an earthquake as it shuddered the area. Another quick glance behind him and Talon witnessed the magic of the gauntlet being unleashed right behind them. The rush of blinding white light was picking up speed as it moved through the city. In reaction to it, Talon didn't think twice as he called upon the power of his bracer to protect all three of them. Fukayna was a stretch, but he managed. Silver light embraced them all as they rode towards the gates of the city. Screams issued in the air as the people of the city were struck by their Stewards power. The sounds of the large trees being bent groaned through the air and Talon feared that even the majestic trees would be toppled over. Closing his eyes against the blinding light that flooded around them, he could only hope that the horse would be able to make it's way out of the gates without incident.

His magic trembled as it struggled to hold against the destructive power. As soon as it came, though, it was gone and faded off far into the forest ahead. Talon cracked open an eye and took a quick look behind him. The elves that had once been in the city were gone, the trees still stood but they'd lost their grandeur and looked utterly destroyed. Nothing remained of Lethandrill except for the trees. His heart sank and his grip around the reigns tightened. Grinding his teeth he tore his gaze away and pushed his forehead into Jennifer's warm back. His rage at losing so many people and losing the gauntlet to a mad man was mounting. However, the was nothing he could do about it then. So, his frustrations tore at him, gnawed him to the bone as he rode deeper into the forest.

He pulled the horse to a stop as they rounded a corner in the trail of the forest and came upon a group of people idling around. Had they not felt the power that just destroyed the city? Surely they would have had the frame of mind to leave the area. His eyes settled on the third horse that had belonged to him upon first leaving Skyfall. Seated on it was the Navile woman and the young elf that Talon had hardly had a chance to see during his... discussion with Torak. The elven male looked utterly spent and beaten beyond life. Somehow he still clung to the living plane, breathing shallowly and leaning heavily against the woman in front of him. The Navile woman looked relieved to see them appear, and offered a smile.

"What are you doing still lingering here?" Talon asked, trying to sound more intimidating than he felt at that moment. The woman's smile faltered slightly, but then she looked back at the young man behind her and answered the assassin straight.

"He won't make it very far. I couldn't keep riding at the pace I was. I ran into these guys soon after," she said and nodded her head to the assortment of people before them, "Besides," she continued, "I wasn't about to go very far without you anyway. I owe you my life after all."

"You owe us nothing," Talon replied quietly, but his tone had softened considerably. His gaze turned to take in the group before them. Two men whom he'd never seen before were there, a young woman clad in... scales? That was an interesting notion, but further intriguing (and perhaps a bit unsettling) was her demeanor. She seemed highly enraged about something and her gaze was settled on a woman with red hair and a dragon curled around her body.

"Astrid!" Talon yelled, his former tone returning as he set his gaze upon the girl standing there bickering with her dragon as always. He made to further ask her as to why she was there and not carrying out her duties, but he felt a kind of sharp movement in his side. It didn't hurt, but it was the lack of pain that alarmed him. Talon was afraid to see what had happened to his side and even more afraid of Jennifer's reaction. Glancing down he groaned softly and only then did he feel his head getting light from the lack of energy. He'd used too much of the bracers power and it was catching up to him finally. To add to it, the crystal spike that had started out small after his breaking it from Torak's spell, had suddenly began to encase his side in crystal.

"Damnit... of all times," he managed to mutter before falling off the horse from Jennifer's back. All strength left him and he hit the ground unconscious from lack of energy.

The setting changes from Lethandrill to Lastra

Setting

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Character Portrait: Jennifer Live Character Portrait: Capella Character Portrait: Talon V'lyn Character Portrait: Khrae Var Character Portrait: Armen Sorien Character Portrait: Fukayna Muidrehd
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"Yeah, let's....Stephano?" Astrid made to set off when her dragon turned to face the other dragon head on. He had leapt off her shoulder and stood in front of Capella, his wings outstretched and his teeth bared. Astrid fought the urge to grab him now as the other dragon seemed to emit pure rage. But her little guardian stood strong, the sandy brown creature's wings hammering the air around him to make a loud noise. Astrid wasn't used to this display of anger but she knew what he was doing. The other two people cringed at the noise. The other dragon just raised her eyebrows, her aura still projecting dark energy and a feeling of dread. Stephano just met her eye and had that look on his face. That look that Astrid hated. It was the one that felt as if he was staring right into your flaming soul. The young woman bit her lip. Hard.

Astrid didn't like this.

At all.

If she hurt Stephano...almost on auto-pilot, the assassin plucked an arrow from her quiver and readied herself in case she had to step in quickly. But there was no need.

Stephano gave a horrid hiss and a growl before snapping his teeth angrily. Capella looked at him with a frown before replying in the same manner. This odd conversation carried on for a few minutes before Capella's dark aura faded and she gave Stephano a loaded look. Astrid's grip on her bow tightened and she fought the urge to shoot the other dragon where she stood. She knew her face had changed into the mask. All the previous emotion had gone and she had changed into the assassin she was underneath. Dangerous, deadly and can kill you fifteen different ways with a paperclip. She didn't know if the other two were staring at her or at the dragons but she didn't really care. At this moment, she only had eyes for Stephano's safety and the Grey Sword's movements.

(T) "Fine. We have an agreement. If I find you have broken it..." Capella said, looking down at Stephano. The young dragon nodded silently and offered a little smile in response. After a few seconds, he launched himself backwards into the air and Astrid caught him in her arms, needing the contact. Stephano rolled his eyes before shifting into his wrap around position.

"So...The fuck was that about, Stephano?!" Astrid yelled at her little companion after getting over her worry. The dragon laughed softly.

"Nothing, my dear. We were merely discussing the current economical climate. Terrible business that." Stephano offered slyly, watching in glee as Astrid's features moved into a look of pure disgust.

"I hate you."

"I love you too, my dear." Stephano replied, his little head nuzzling her neck. Astrid softened a little and stroked her companion's head.

"I'm guessing this is one of those things you can't tell me, huh? One of the weird dragon crap things?" Astrid asked, not sounding too bothered. She supposed if what Stephano had said to Capella was really important then he would have told her through their bond. Thus, she concluded, it was one of the weird ass dragon secret conversations of secretness.

"Indeed. Now, I am rather sure we were supposed to be going somewhere. Shall we carry on?" Stephano asked, his eyes trained onto Capella. He must have found what he was looking for because then he looked back at Astrid and smiled. The assassin couldn't help but grin back. Then she spotted something. As an archer, Astrid had good eyesight. It was a given. But the two people on the horse were not hard to miss. The assassin gave Stephano a look which her companion mirrored and they took off, dead run, to find out who these people were.

They had one of Riena's horses.

Astrid knew this. She hadn't been very...well behaved in her childhood and had spent a good amount of time cleaning the stables as punishment. So she had gotten to know the horses fairly well. She run up to the two, bow drawn and eyes narrowed.

"And you are?"

...

After the Navile woman had explained who they were and what they were doing, Astrid had let the bow drop and had tried to help the best she could. But she was no healer and the young elf did not look well. Astrid could relate. A lot of the time, she too was not very well. Stephano felt a pang of sadness in their bond and had poured some reassurance down to the assassin. Astrid looked up and smiled sadly at the dragon before returning her look back to the two before them. They had seen V'lyn and Jennifer. Yet, they were not here. This was not good news. Even worse was the news that Lethandrill was currently exploding in on itself. Because the Steward had apparently gone fucking nuts.

Well, shit.

This was somewhat anti good news. Astrid's hand went up to find the little dragon on her shoulder, just to make sure that the little being was still there. Stephano accepted all this contact with so much as a blink. He felt the assassin's worry over her superiors being in danger. It had been drilled into her to make sure everyone was safe. All her brothers and sisters in arms. Stephano could sense that his assassin was not taking this very well.

Then she spotted two more horses over the hill and she jumped to her feet. The archer's eyes examined the horses before Stephano distracted her. Again.

Damn dragon.

"Really, you must calm down. You are scaring the people who don't know you."

"I am not scaring anyone!"

"You have all of your throwing knives out in a not so defensive stance." Stephano sighed as Astrid blinked and looked down at her hands.

"So I do. Huh."

"Yes. Maybe you should, I don't know, put them away so we don't give someone else a heart attack."

"Hey. That was partially your fault. And it was an aneurism."

"Oh, I do apologise. Anyway, knives? Go bye bye maybe?"

"Aw, but mooooooooom." Astrid whined, blinking innocently.

"But them away, you little monster. Before I make you into cat food."

"I prefer dogs myself." Astrid mused as she hit away her knives again, just as quickly as she had gotten them out.

Yes, well. I don't p-" Another intimidating voice cut off Stephano's sarcastic answer.

"Astrid!" The assassin instantly reacted. Her spine straightened, her bow was drawn and aimed within seconds and she turned out her heel, expecting the drills of Skyfall. She blinked and found Talon sitting on a horse, looking down at her. He was there with Jennifer and another woman who was covered in...

"Sheep fur?" Astrid wondered out loud, her face screwing up. On her shoulder, Stephano smirked triumphantly.

"Told you it was wolf fur. Astrid decided to ignore him rather than get into a very violent arguement in front of her highers.

Instead she sought out Talon again and he gave him a cheeky grin as he, no doubt, went to ask her what the hell she was doing out in the middle of nowhere and not at Skyfall training or killing someone. But before he could say anything, he grimaced and looked down at his side. Astrid frowned at Stephano who mirrored her look and she stepped forward.

"Um, V'lyn?" She asked softly, still holding the bow between her finger gently. Then Lord V'lyn fell to the ground and Astrid, being the closest, went to help him. She didn't know exactly what to do. She was no healer. She was more of a peacekeeper. Stephano poked his head over to examine V'lyn and Astrid knew it was bad. The look in Stephano's eye told her all she needed to know. But what really sealed the deal was when Stephano sighed and spoke.

Not to her, that was normal.

No, he spoke to the others by himself. Not through Astrid.

"He needs help. Now would be simply fantastic."

The setting changes from Lastra to Lethandrill

Setting

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Character Portrait: Jennifer Live Character Portrait: Capella Character Portrait: Talon V'lyn Character Portrait: Khrae Var Character Portrait: Armen Sorien Character Portrait: Fukayna Muidrehd
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"Damnit... of all times." Alarmed by his fading voice, Jennifer snatched the assassin’s arm from the air just before he was allowed to drop. Talon’s head bobbed inches away from the earth as his momentum jolted to a sudden halt.

“Reev dammit you, you fat oath! This is what happens when you spend all of your days at meetings!” she gritted her teeth as her arm muscles screamed in protest. It was fortunate then that the horse wasn’t in motion or she too would have surely lost her balance and been pulled down along with him. Stabilizing his weight by gingerly cantilevering her own, the mage carefully lowered the rest of his body to the ground.

"He needs help. Now would be simply fantastic." Astrid's dragon stated.

"Yes, thank you for pointing out the obvious," Jennifer snapped at the duo, her eyes flashing dangerously for a second. "World Fracture."

An invisible force levitated Talon's body from the ground, lifting him past the distressed expressions of Astrid and Stephano. Steadily, Jennifer pulled the assassin back onto the horse, positioning him upright. The crystal formations delivered an ill-sense of unease as she assessed the wound. Worse than a bacterial infection, they’d grown significantly since she had last set eyes upon them, festering and coiling sinisterly around the assassin’s waist.

After some contemplation, she ripped off the goggles she’d conjured to cover her eyes and allowed the magic holding it together to disintegrate. Her hair fell smoothly against her silky cheeks as the straps released clumps of her dark locks. Scattering the goggle’s dusty remains like ashes to the wind, she gazed down at the others discourteously, her dark eyes really only addressing Astrid, the young vagabond assassin. Jennifer gave what could only be described as deep look of maternal disappointment before sighing at the young redhead. “Judging from the murderous glare that
 young woman is giving you. I take it that you’re not here on official business Miss T’Vali? Let me guess, you got bored and took it upon yourself to find entertainment?” she said, reciting the last sentence like it was a daily chore.

“I thought I told you to rein in your companion’s behaviour, Stephano,” Jennifer mocked, directing an accusatory stare to the dragon, Astrid’s brown-yellow bond. Jennifer used the term ‘companion’ lightly as the duo always seemed be in a near perpetual state of bickering, a fact which often left her bewildered as to how they completed any work at all. Glancing towards the mysterious dark woman, Fukayna, she couldn’t help but to compare their personalities. Fukayna, despite her unnecessary compassion, held an air of reliability and well-tempered determination. Astrid on the other hand reminded Jennifer of her younger self at times, outspoken and wily beyond her years, but damn well frustrating at times also.

“Well if you're quite done with playing around Astrid, I have a mission for you,” Jennifer smiled wickedly.

Shifting her balance so that Talon’s body leaned against her back, Jennifer secured the assassin’s arms beneath her own and then picked up the reins. She’d have to remain in this position or else she wouldn’t be able to see past the assassin’s bulkier frame. “Fukayna, Astrid. You'll both be returning to Skyfall with me,” she announced, “I’ve performed some remedial healing but I must return to the city. I’ll need my lab in order to deal with the crystals. Once I’m finished with this debacle, we’re going after Torak. Take the Navile and elf prisoner with you Fukayna. I’ll have some further questions for them later.”

Jennifer then smiled cheerfully at the motley collection of strangers. Two men and one, almost reptilian, woman who'd continued to glare hatefully at Astrid and Stephano, they where all armed to some extent, putting the mage slightly on edge. This road provided access to and from Lethandrill, nothing more and nothing less, which meant they were either fleeing with the rest of the city’s inhabitants or, seeing as they weren’t running yet, more than likely had business at the elven city. Feeling unusually charitable, she decided to speak to them, “Lethandrill is regrettably, gone. Unless your idea of sight seeing involves smoking ruins and dead corpses, I’d turn the other way folks. Have a nice day.”

Without waiting for further replies, a sharp cracked pierced the air as Jennifer whipped the reins and galloped towards Skyfall.

Setting

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Character Portrait: Jennifer Live Character Portrait: Capella Character Portrait: Talon V'lyn Character Portrait: Khrae Var Character Portrait: Armen Sorien Character Portrait: Fukayna Muidrehd
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#, as written by Igari
Fukayna shivered as they pulled to a stop, a larger group of people that seemed to all be traveling together in the middle of the trail. It did not take her long to spot Armen and the dark-haired woman, the former of which was weakly leaning against the woman. She felt relief, at least he was still alive, but by the looks of it, if was just barely. A string of irritated words left the lips of the mage and Fukayna turned in time to see V'lyn slip from his horse. His body was limp and had clearly faded out of consciousness--but Miss Jennifer was quick on the uptake and managed to catch him before his head hit the ground.

“Reev dammit you, you fat oath! This is what happens when you spend all of your days at meetings!” The hiss had another undertone, was that concern...? She flailed a bit when trying to get off her horse, though this time, she was a bit certain that her awkward, clumsy descent off the horse was witnessed by others. After she righted herself on the ground, stumbling a bit on her first few steps due to the fact of having been seated on the horse for awhile, she went to rush to Miss Jennifer's side to assist her. However, a sarcastically amused masculine voice brought her attentions upwards.

"He needs help. Now would be simply fantastic." She immediately started, never having seen a dragon before. He was a little chubby, but not absurdly so, actually, it was kind of cute. She marveled a little at the creature--what a magnificent work of nature! His wings looked like they were quite large, even despite being folded alongside his body, and his eyes were bold. She almost got enough courage to reach out and touch him, for his scales did look ever so nice. But then her attentions became more focused on the group of people and she no longer seemed to hear what Miss Jennifer said in response.

Fukayna's breath hitched--she had never done too well around large groups of strangers. It had been different at the Order of Riena--at least there... it had just been recruits and she had had time to observe them from the distance of her room and such to grow comfortable with their presence. But to have so many people together at one time... Instantly she moved closer to Miss Jennifer, almost as if to shield herself from the view of others. It semi-worked, given how small she was. But she could see the questioning gazes of the others and bit her lip in nervousness. This was making her terribly uncomfortable. She wrapped her fingers around her furs and pulled them tighter against her. Miss Jennifer was speaking once more, still the example of calm and controlled, despite the situation.

“... take it that you’re not here on official business Miss T’Vali? Let me guess, you got bored and took it upon yourself to find entertainment? I thought I told you to rein in your companion’s behaviour, Stephano,” The last comment seemed to be directed at someone else but she couldn't really be sure who. But by the way the dragon shifted at this, perhaps it would be best to assume he was the target of those words. The mage continued, her lilting voice taking on somewhat of that same deadly sarcasm Fukayna had heard earlier that was directed at the female Elf.

“Well if you're quite done with playing around Astrid, I have a mission for you. Fukayna, Astrid. You'll both be returning to Skyfall with me. I’ve performed some remedial healing but I must return to the city. I’ll need my lab in order to deal with the crystals. Once I’m finished with this debacle, we’re going after Torak. Take the Navile and elf prisoner with you Fukayna. I’ll have some further questions for them later.” Fukayna tensed a bit at the order but there was nothing she could do against it. Miss Jennifer's words were absolute. She pulled out her notepad once more and wrote her response, perhaps a bit slower than usual due to her hesitation.

"I'll have them ride next to me, then. She didn't take any steps nearer to the group, only silently gestured to the dark-haired girl and Armen to come closer to her. The girl tilted her head in confusion, probably over why Fukayna refused to approach them as before. The small girl didn't even try to comment, she only repeated her gestures until the dark-haired girl patted the side of the horse to make it trot over towards where Fukayna stood. She sighed, not even bothering to look up at the others as she tried to get back on her horse. The struggle was not unseen but surprisingly, she felt a weight at her back.

She would've tensed up, had it not been for the firm feel of scales behind her. She turned a little and saw the dragon, who had been poorly named Stephano, prodding her a bit to help her up the horse. She blushed but smiled at him, perhaps cutely, from underneath her bangs as she used his support to get on the horse. Now comfortable, it seemed she had been just in time, for Miss Jennifer had returned on to her horse. She cracked her reigns and Fukayna did the same, nodding to the others to follow suit.

Normally she would've urged to ask after what the strangers planned to do. But at this moment, perhaps due to her nervousness, or pure concern for the fact that Armen needed urgent medical attention (and a bath), she yearned to return to Skyfall. Not only that, but V'lyn seemed to have a serious injury as well and that knowledge bothered her. She only glimpsed behind her to look back at the lovely dragon--had she been paying attention, she surely would've noticed the dragoness that was fuming at the assassin and Stephano.

The setting changes from Lethandrill to Lastra

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jennifer Live Character Portrait: Capella Character Portrait: Talon V'lyn Character Portrait: Khrae Var Character Portrait: Armen Sorien Character Portrait: Fukayna Muidrehd
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#, as written by Centi85
The clansman watched the events unfold before him with the same, detached expression he always possessed during such times. There wasn't even a moment that could be spared for questioning, but instead the man remained silent, observing and making careful calculations about the situation. The two who had appeared just previously, the Dragoness and young assassin, seemed to just have nothing else to do, and so seemed to decide it would be enjoyable, or at least somewhat interesting, to strike up a random conversation with complete strangers along a lonely road to Lethandrill. The next two riders, coming on horseback, seemed as if they appeared with more worthy intentions than simply for their own entertainment. The urgency he felt within them was evident, and it only increased with the addition of the next group of riders.

Khrae had only a moment to assess the first pair, a young woman with distinctly paler skin and pointed ears, as well as wearing not a lot of coverage, but still more than the Dragoness. Unless Khrae was simply being judgmental and forming conclusions based on first glance generalizations, she had to be a Naville. Later on he could worry about any threat she supposedly posed, but currently it seemed she was more in a hurry than anything to escape from something. The boy whom rested on her back had obviously seen better days, looking as if his daily sustenance intake had been replaced with a beating for a good week, maybe more.

Without totally disregarding the others once they had been evaluated, Khrae turned to the next three. A young woman whose eyes he could not see due to her silvery bangs rode alongside yet another woman, obviously older, but not at all lacking in an elegant beauty despite the fact, as well as was another man whom Khrae was surprised to learn was Lord V'lyn himself. Reasoning then giving Khrae enough to assume that the woman was the infamous, or simply famous, depending on your preferences, Jennifer. Khrae mulled this over in his head as he took in the man, the all powerful assassin leader who seemed as if he'd just come from a rather strenuous battle, and who quite literally fell into a state of unconsciousness, though luckily the woman riding with him had just managed to catch him. Whomever he'd been combating had obviously wielded devastating power, and as for the crystallized magic which latched onto him, Khrae had never seen it before.

“Well if you're quite done with playing around Astrid, I have a mission for you,” the woman said as she looked to the young assassin. "Fukayna, Astrid. You'll both be returning to Skyfall with me. I’ve performed some remedial healing but I must return to the city. I’ll need my lab in order to deal with the crystals. Once I’m finished with this debacle, we’re going after Torak. Take the Navile and elf prisoner with you Fukayna. I’ll have some further questions for them later.”

Khrae was swimming in his own thoughts as he took in everything that was happening and all that was said. Names were dubbed to those present, and then the information was sorted through and then processed. Torak stood out above all else. Yes, that was who Khrae and Dante were headed to see on behalf of their clan, and whom apparently had caused this whole ordeal. How exactly each one of these people fit in to the situation, however, Khrae wasn't sure, but he didn't question.

“Lethandrill is regrettably, gone. Unless your idea of sight seeing involves smoking ruins and dead corpses, I’d turn the other way folks. Have a nice day.”

Raising an eyebrow at the statement, Khrae let out an sigh of exasperation behind the cowl of his cloak. Lovely. Obviously then whoever these people were escaping from was a worthy adversary, especially considering the almighty Lord V'lyn had sustained such damage, and from what Khrae was gathering, the culprit was Torak. So the man had destroyed his own city? Hmm. That definitely complicated a lot of things. Before the swordsman could respond however, before he could even formulate a question to help clear up the mess of information that had just been thrown at him, the woman rode off with her companions, back to Skyfall.

Shaking his head, Khrae from those still here (I think it's just Capella.. ??), and then to Dante. The boy was staring at something, or someone, but he couldn't tell who or what. Tapping him on the shoulder to gather his attention, Khrae blinked once as the boy jumped suddenly, having drifted off quite a ways, consumed by whatever it was that held his attention. The man dismissed the action, however, as it wasn't unusual for Dante to get so distracted.

"O-huh, er.. Oh. What?" the boy finally questioned, looking around suddenly as he now began to register all that was going on around him.

"It seems as though we've encountered a hitch in our plans." The man said simply.

Dante looked at him curiously, not understanding. "...Okay.. What does that mean?"

"It means we're no longer going to Lethandrill." Khrae clarified.

The boy beamed brightly, overjoyed now that they didn't need to continue down this boring road to a stupid city for whatever stupid meeting. "Really?!" he exclaimed, throwing up his arms in excitement. "Haha, awesome! No more stinkin' meeting!"

"Hold your tongue," Khrae warned, now beginning to continue down the road.

Dante suddenly fell silent, clamping both hands over his mouth while managing to maintain an apologetic look for little more than two seconds. "Sorry," he mumbled, lowering his hands, "but I knew this whole trip was useless anyway." Happily, trotting up to his master's side, he smiled again. "So where are we going now? Some local pub, or a store, someplace actually fun, right?"

"Skyfall."

Dante stopped, looking at Khrae's back now, his mouth slightly ajar. "Skyfall?" he complained. "Why?!"

"Because our previous destination has been destroyed, and we have to go there anyway to speak with Lord V'lyn. I'd also like to know exactly what happened during his visit to Lethandrill that would leave him in such a state, what would cause the Steward to destroy his own city."

"Another meeting?!" Dante said, once more hurrying to catch up to the man. "Ugh, this clan business is soo boring! Plus, do you even realize how far away Skyfall is? It's a lot farther than where we just came from!"

Khrae turned slightly to face his student, truly amused for once, though the reaction remained hidden beneath his hood. "Oh? So you actually know something? Congratulations."

"I know plenty," Dante protested. "Like... like... Uhmm..." The boy paused, trying to think of something that would impress his mentor, but finding nothing.

"Nevertheless," Khrae continued, dismissing the previous conversation, "It's either a trip to Skyfall to speak with Lord V'lyn and find out what's going on, or we go meditate and train."

"Off to Skyfall!" Dante proclaimed, pointing down the road and beginning to run. Khrae simply shook his head, smiling with content beneath his hood as he continued walking, watching the boy gain distance ahead of him.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jennifer Live Character Portrait: Capella Character Portrait: Talon V'lyn Character Portrait: Khrae Var Character Portrait: Armen Sorien Character Portrait: Fukayna Muidrehd
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Astrid gave a cheeky little grin and a little salute. Back to Skyfall? Happy days, no more walking. Walking was slightly worse than a slow painful death being eaten by a really nasty dragon. Well. That's what Astrid thought. She had never suffered a slow painful death being eaten by a really nasty dragon but she used her imagination. But what did her superior mean by Lethandrill is regrettably, gone? Surely it couldn't just be gone. Cities don't just disappear. Astrid grinned at the thought of a city just going "poof" and it vanished, like a magician's trick gone large scale. And then some. Stephano just rolled his eyes at his companion.

"Aye aye, Miss Jennifer, ma'am!" She turned on the spot as the mage took off with Talon on the back of her horse. Astrid winced a little at that. Maybe she should have offered to let his ride with her and Stephano. It would have been a much smoother ride. But then she shook her head. Ha! Talon had fought in the great war! He'd be fine! Just fine.

Wouldn't he?

The assassin distracted herself from these disturbing thoughts by trying to figure out where her little scaly friend had gone to. Because he was not on her back right now. As she turned to find Stephano, she giggled. Aw, her dragon. Such the gentleman.

Stephano had obviously noticed that this 'Sheep Fur' person (Astrid couldn't even hope to pronounce that name so "Miss Sheep Fur" it was) was struggling to get back on her horse and had gone to lend a hand. It was actually kind of cute. Stephano wasn't all that bad, she supposed. Unless he was being whiny. Which was often. So really, Stephano was all that bad.

After both the horses had gone on their way, Astrid bounded over to her dragon who looked up at her.

"All abord the Stephano express?" Astrid asked, her eyes wide and pleading. The sandy brown being rolled his large eyes and spead his large wings out to allow Astrid to climb onto his back.

"Well, are you just going to stand there all day? I'm pretty sure we have work to do." Stephano drawled, his voice laced with sarcasm. Astrid hopped onto his back and hit Stephano's side sharply with her bow.

"Yeah, smartass. We got work to do. Now hustle. I don't wanna be the last one to Skyfall because of your mediocre flying skills." The assassin remarked, grinning as she sat in her normal position, knees against the wings joints and hands braced in front of her.

"Fine then." Stephano took off with a large whoosh noise as his huge wings forced him into the air. He moved with a grace that you wouldn't imagine from a dragon that was so clumsy on his feet. His large wings spanned the sky and before long, they found themselves way above Jennifer, Sheep Fur and the other two, one of which was still not looking good. Astrid leaned to the side and Stephano obeyed, tilting his wings so that they moved over to the left. There. Now the sick guy was in the shade of Stephano's large wings. Maybe that would help him. It was a rather uneventful journey until Stephano stopped dead in the air, hovering a little.

"Oh, Riena..."

"What? What is it. Steph-Oh Riena..." Jennifer was correct. Lethandrill was gone. It was wasn't totally gone but it was near enough, in Astrid's opinion. The ruins of a great city stood among the destruction.

"Something bad is going on here. Something very not good." Astrid whispered, hands fluttering to her collarbone. Stephano nodded before carrying on to catch up with the rest of their company. The dragon glided down towards the others a little, feeling his assassin's need to know they were OK. Apart from Talon and the sickly looking guy, the rest of them seemed OK. She hoped. Stephano felt this little bit of worry leak through their bond and he pushed it away, trying to reassure her that they were fine. Everyone was going to be OK. The sandy brown dragon flapped his wings powerfully rising in the air before gliding down closer to the others.

"So. We should play a game."

"Really. And what should this game be?"

"Oh, it could be "Tell Astrid about the weird ass dragon deal" or "Jennifer baiting" or even I Spy!" Astrid said, crossing her arms. She needed something to take her mind off the current events. And what better way to do that than by annoying Stephano?

"Ok. No, hell no and don't even try. And in that order."

"Yay! I spy..."

"No."

"With my..."

"Stop it."

"Little (although incredibly accurate) eye..."

"We are not playing this game."

"Something beginning with..."

"Astrid, I'm serious. Not after last time."

"Hmm...something beginning with S!" Astrid finished, leaning back, feeling smug. That dragon was NEVER going to get this one.

"I despise you. I really do."

"I know that. Now guess!"

"Fine, fine. S? Salt?"

"Don't know where the hell you're seeing salt, dragon boy, but no."

"Sand?"

"Again, god knows where you're seeing that and hell no."

"The sun?"

"You can't look directly at the sun, you idiot. Therefore, I cannot spy it."

"Fine. I fricking give up. What the hell is it?" Stephano grouched, trying to concentrate. Oddly enough, he got a wave of deja vu. As long as she didn't start on again at the puppies, he'd be fine. He wouldn't kill her.

He hoped.

It would be slightly awkward to explain to Jennifer why one of her assassins was now in a billion little flaming pieces.

"It's sheep fur, you silly!" Stephano's brain froze for a few minutes before he sighed heavily.

"Wolf. Fur. it's wolf fur."

"Nuh uh. Sheep fur!"

"Wolf. It's wolf. Ask her yourself if you fricking want. It is WOLF FUR. Stephano yelled, his eyes wide and jaw squared. Astrid stopped for a minute before falling back with laughter.

"I...I..." The assassin gasped for breath, laughter streaming out of her mouth. Stephano rolled his eyes and took on a wicked grin of his own.

"Let's see how funny you find this." With that, the dragon pitched down, forcing Astrid to lie flat on her stomach as Stephano shot down and down and down. He almost reached the ground around a metre or two in front of Jennifer and then shot back up again, twirling as he did. Astrid screamed, laughter piercing the terror.

"Stephano! Stop it!" The assassin called to her dragon, not really meaning it. Her long red hair flying around her as the dragon flew up into the air again. She wasn't worried. They had done this kind of thing before, until much deadlier circumstances. But the thrill falling through the air gave her was still phenomenal. Unbeatable. Stephano arched his back as he went to loop the air and Astrid fell. Again, she didn't worry. She didn't need to. A few seconds after just falling in the air upside down, she flipped herself upright and landed square on Stephano's back again. The assassin giggled, eyes screwed shut, hands reaching the air as Stephano carried on dancing through the air.

Who needed a horse when you had a dragon anyways?

After a while, they decided to cease their aerial display for now and glided down until they were above the others again. Then Astrid decided she wanted to meet the new recruit, properly this time. Stephano agreed, also wanting to meet this new person civilly now instead of being attacked by her later for something Astrid had roped him into. The dragon and his rider soared down until almost eyes level to the woman wrapped in fur.

"So! Who are you?" Astrid asked, her hair flying around her face and eyes shimmering from the adrenaline of their flight. Stephano rolled his eye and just carried on gliding gently beside the poor woman Astrid was probably going to scar for life.

The setting changes from Lastra to Skyfall

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jennifer Live Character Portrait: Talon V'lyn Character Portrait: Khrae Var Character Portrait: Fukayna Muidrehd Character Portrait: Astrid T'vali Character Portrait: Isaehn Raxieyl
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Skyfall – Afternoon

Jennifer slumped into her armchair, sighing and allowing herself to rest after all the time she had spent removing the crystals. The furniture squeaked as she thrust herself careless upon it, her lithe body folding into the seat’s cavity as though she lacked any semblance of a backbone. Her heart hammered in her chest, her breath hitched in her throat. Somehow, she’d succeeded, but it had taken a considerable proportion of her necklace’s powers. The experience left her utterly exhausted but her concerns where already focused elsewhere, on the events in Lethandrill. It was the indistinct dread that forced her minor asphyxiation. Torak’s gauntlet had haunted her memories ever since she’d returned to Skyfall, disturbing the events from forty years ago. It wasn’t quite right to call it Torak’s gauntlet though, no, that wasn’t right at all. By now she was certain that it was Domieen’s. There was also the mystery of the third figure, the man with the stone gauntlet. After the chaos she'd seen no sight of him and believed him killed, but she knew better than to assume.

“Jennifer! How is Lord V’lyn?” The gruff voice of Sebastian, a seasoned veteran, called from beyond the entrance.

A fist pounded violently at the door, startling her. Jennifer only rose when she heard her name called a second time. She edged past the flat, silver table which worked as a center piece to her lab. Talon’s unconscious body laid face-up on the block, shirtless. His tanned skin was marred with numerous scars, some old and faded, some raw. Paradoxically, like the distinctive scar on his handsome face, the markings along his body afforded him a gentle, almost vulnerable appearance. Pity swelled into her chest as she remembered being unable to prevent more than one of those of those wounds, and now there was one more to add to that list.

Before she could part ways, Talon’s eyes snapped open in so fast Jennifer expected to hear thunder. A deep reaching breath filled the room as the assassin sucked the life back into him. The change in scenery made him instinctively go for his knives, which of course, weren’t there. “Talon!” Jennifer yelped, equally surprised to see him awake. Drawing his attention with her voice, Talon relaxed at her presence. The door knocked a third time.

“Where are we? How are the others?” he asked in a state of confusion as Jennifer went to retrieve a glass of water.

“Skyfall,” Jennifer replied, carefully feeding him the clear liquid. “And care more about yourself first,” she reprimanded, her sharp features showing irritation once more at his lack of self-preservation.

Talon ignored her of course. His mind was a haze but there were more pressing matters. Torak, and more specifically, the gauntlet. “Ro’ell,” he said, his jaw muscles working like crazy to formulate his ideas, “You need to
research
the gauntlet
”

He fell into quiet slumber before uttering another word.

“Jennifer! Are you there?!” the voice behind the door banged again with an undertone of urgency.

The door flew open in front of Sebastian, revealing the mage behind it. She looked ever so slightly bedraggled, not having the time to even straighten herself out since arriving back at the order, but that only seemed to augment her profound beauty. “Send a message to our contacts in Ro’ell, Alistair Fenix and Isaehn Raxieyl of the Order of Vyldi. Arrange a meeting, request both of them to research for information regarding Domieen’s gauntlet,” Jennifer ordered immediately. Sebastian’s ember eyes narrowed perceptibly at the mentioning of ‘Domieen’s gauntlet’. Sebastian was old, forty-five now, so the war had occurred when he was only just five. Yet even he knew of the infamy surrounding the old black dragon. That the mage had decided to acknowledge it suggested the matter was dire indeed. “And summon Fukayna and Astrid to the briefing room.”

“And Lord V’lyn?” Sebastian stuttered, suddenly remembering his original purpose.

“He’s fine,” Jennifer huffed, storming out of the lab room, “The foolish oath would sooner die of his own vaunted chivalry before any infection would even have the chance to become lethal
What?”

Sebastian still lingered by the open doorway, giving off an apprehensive aura that didn’t suit the middle-aged assassin at all. “A man by the name of Khrae Var has also requested to speak with Lord V’lyn,” he informed her.

“Well, you can go ahead and tell him that Lord V’lyn is unavailable due to unconsciousness,” Jennifer retorted with a flippant wave of her arms.

“He wants to discuss the events in Lethadrill, he’s accompanied by a younger man and a
humanoid drag
” Sebastian’s speech stopped, his voice caught in his throat by the expression that the mage greeted him with. He looked tremendously disturbed to see her standing in the hallway, smiling. “I’ll tell Mr Var to wait in the main courtyard and then get to mailing those messages for you...”

There were still so many duties to attend to.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jennifer Live Character Portrait: Khrae Var Character Portrait: Armen Sorien Character Portrait: Fukayna Muidrehd Character Portrait: Astrid T'vali Character Portrait: Stephano
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#, as written by Igari
Path to Skyfall - Morning

Fukayna adjusted herself on her horseback, her eyes flitting over to the horse riding next to her that was supporting the weight of both the elves. Now that they were away from the odd group, she was beginning to feel more like herself and her shoulders had relaxed from their previously tense position. The journey was moderately paced and it gave her a chance to evaluate what happened as they rode. Lethandrill had fallen, a city that had once stood so firm and so proud. All of that had been decimated in mere minutes thanks to the frightening power that the steward wielded.

The power hadn't seem to come from the man though... The pulses of magic had come more from the gauntlet than it was coming from his own efforts. And there was something troubling about that. Her eyebrows furrowed, her bottom lip jutting out as she tried to ponder the possibilities. She felt she had seen that gauntlet before, perhaps somewhere in texts--there was something familiar... Before she could focus any more thought to the idea, a whoop and a flurry of air hit her face, bringing her out of her reverie effectively.

It took her a bit for her eyes to focus upon the sight. It was the red-haired girl upon the lovely creature, the dragon doing twirls dangerously close to the ground before rising up and coming to settle next to Fukayna's horse. She jumped, reeling back just a bit as the woman grinned over at her. "So! Who are you?" Her voice was peppy, excited, jumpy--like the personality she seemed to radiate. Fukayna was a little lost and glanced at the dragon, who rolled his eye. She fumbled a little and tapped the side of her horse to slow it down a little.

Feeling it safe to feel around inside of her wolf furs, Fukayna pulled out her notepad and pen, jotting (somewhat sloppily due to the up and down movements) on her parchment. "I'm a new recruit, chosen to accompany V'lyn and Miss Jennifer through a spar match." It seemed like a proficient-enough answer but the woman was looking at her expectantly. Sighing, she scribbled a little more on her paper. "My name is Fukayna Muidrehd." The girl finally seemed satisfied and giggled, proudly introducing herself with puffed-up bravado and way too much arm movement.

After finally sorting out left from right, for the wild way in which she spoke made it difficult to pay proper attention, Fukayna finally got that the girl's name was Astrid and the dragon was indeed Stephano. A look of pity came across her face, though she wasn't sure if it came across all the way. Who on earth would name their dragon Stephano? Perhaps when they had some time to themselves back at the Order of Riena, Fukayna would get the chance to ask him if that was really his name. And if that tie was worn because it made him looking more dashing or because it was forced upon him by the the girl with the boundless amount of energy.

The trip continued by in much the same fashion. Astrid blathered question after question--but unlike Miss Jennifer, the questions were borderline rude and rather disturbing. What did asking her if she had ever tried to put giant cloth diapers on sheep have to do with her life? She kept her responses minimal, still unsure how to take this character. Maybe when she was a little less tired, the conversation might make a bit more sense. Maybe. An hour or two more passed by before at last they came to the Order.

Skyfall - Afternoon

She hadn't been able to find time to take a nap after all. After they had arrived at Skyfall, Fukayna had followed after Miss Jennifer a few paces before the mage had told her where to take the elves to rest. She had been adamant about making sure both made it to the infirmary. She eventually had to be told to leave, for her fretting was doing ill for Armen's rest and the dark-haired elf sleeping a few beds from him. As she was leaving, she was approached by an older man appearing to be in his late forties, one whom looked wizened with experience and sights of war--given the haunted look behind his eyes.

"Ah, you must be Fukayna?" She nodded hesitantly, unsure who this man was. He smiled a bit as if to put her at ease. "My name is Sebastian. Jennifer requests your presence in the briefing hall." She nodded to indicate she understood what had just been told her. The man nodded back before turning, heading off in another direction. She paused, choosing to cut through the courtyard to get to the hall quicker. She yawned as she rubbed at her eyes beneath her bangs. Gods, she needed a nap.

As she walked across the courtyard, she caught sight of the same strange individual she had seen earlier on the path. She froze in her steps, now wary. 'What is he doing here...?' She nervously gripped at her furs again as she forced herself to keep walking. She didn't want to be late for a summons by Miss Jennifer and shyness around strangers seemed like a pretty poor excuse. Fukayna walked to the other side, only glancing to her right once to look at him once more. She met the gaze of the older male and immediately looked away, hurrying towards the briefing room. There was an intensity in his gaze, though gentle, there was something in it that commanded respect--perhaps power? She shook her head; now was not the time to have her mind on the man.

She came outside the door, knocking quietly twice before letting herself in. She peered around, not spotting anyone inside. Perhaps Miss Jennifer was delayed? The room was the same as when she had last seen it, except not so cram full of new recruits. She found herself drawn to her original seat that she had taken when she had been first listening to the words of V'lyn. It was hard to believe it really hadn't been that long ago at all. After her experiences, such a speech seemed so long and distant in the past. And there were still so many unanswered questions. She sat down, placing her hands in front of her on her lap. Well, she may as well wait. Miss Jennifer would surely be here within moments.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jennifer Live Character Portrait: Fukayna Muidrehd Character Portrait: Astrid T'vali Character Portrait: Stephano
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Astrid pulled back her draw string and watched as her arrow flew and hit the target. Without skipping a beat, she threw herself sideways, rolling on her shoulder to fall in a crouched position. There she let another arrow fly, hitting the target with a sound thunk before she leaped backwards. She soared through the air and hit the target on the ceiling with ease. As she landed, the assassin had a smile on her face.

"Hell yeah. Beat that mister 'I'm-such-a-great-recruit-I-can-taunt-the-assassins'. Read em' and weep."

"You do realise said recruit is no longer here. And highly likely will never return."

"I never knew he had such a low pain threshold."

"I am sure, dear." The dragon stretched his limbs as he lay on the training room floor watching his companion practise. The long fly back to Skyfall had tired the young dragon out and he was happily relaxing as the assassin brushed up on her archery. Astrid turned to face Stephano as she unsheathed her throwing knives.

"Yeah, yeah. So what do you think of that new recruit?" Astrid asked, thinking back to their journey back to Skyfall. She had taken an interest in the mysterious person. Who didn't talk. Which was fine as Stephano had always stated that Astrid could talk enough for five different people.

"Fukayna?" The dragon asked, examining his claws. There was nothing more he hated than dirt underneath them. Many experiences had taught him that dirt was not so good for him. And it was icky.

"Yeah, Fuk...Fo...Fa...nay...na.." Astrid paused for a moment. "Yeah, her." Stephano looked up at his companion with a seasoned look of frustration.

"Can't take you anywhere, can I? And as for your question, I think she is very promising. And she doesn't talk. After spending any amount of time with you makes silence golden."

"Yeah, well. Duct tape is silver. Wanna see?" Astrid let a little sugary sweet slip into her voice. Stephano suppressed a chuckle.

"No thanks, dear, I think I'll be fine." The assassin shrugged and spun on her heel. She let out a barrage of silver that streaked the air and made quick work of the training dummy in front of her. The young woman then skipped over to collect her knives and started the whole procedure again, her large eyes taking account of the "kills" she was getting in.

"I think she'll be fun." Right in the chest

"If a bit quiet." Plan a funeral, buddy

"Nothing wrong with quiet." Stephano added. Damn it. Astrid shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess. I just like to talk." Bam. Try having children now, you stupid dummy...If dummies could have children...

"Yes, we all got that actually. Have no idea how." The yellow brown dragon replied, his voice coloured with some amusement. The assassin replied with a hand gesture that made Stephano gasp in mock shock.

"Really now, how vulgar of you. A young lady such as yourself..."

"I'm about as ladylike as you are entertaining." Astrid mumbled under her breath. She stood with her back to Stephano but wasn't too surprised when she felt a head on her shoulder and a body encasing her waist.

"I am deeply hurt. Truly." The dragon had just uttered his expected response when Sebastian walked into the training room.

"Oh crap. It wasn't me this time! It couldn't have been me! Really! Just ask...Stephano! Wait, don't. He's a lying bastard...ask Jennifer!" The man just shook his head.

"For once, Miss T'Vali, it would be the case that you didn't have a hand in any mishaps. I never thought this day would come. Miss Jennifer has summoned you to the briefing room." Astrid made a face at this. She didn't want to be told off for following the group to Lethandrill when she wasn't supposed to. That would be a lecture. And they were boring. And she got enough damn lectures from Stephano without Jennifer and the rest of them chipping in too.

Sebastian caught the look on the young woman's face and he rolled his eyes.

"And for once in your life, do not waste time." The older assassin finished off, turning his back to the duo. Astrid stuck her tongue out at the man's retreating back when he called out behind him.

"And if you don't keep that tongue in your head, I will personally cut it off." The younger assassin instantly retracted her tongue and scowled. Stephano didn't even bother hiding his laughter.

"I hate you Stephano. And how did he know I was doing that?!" Astrid asked, picking up her bow and making her way towards the door.

"Well, your immaturity isn't exactly anything new, dear. They've had a good long time to get used to you." The dragon responded. His companion scoffed as she fixed her hair, pulling it up into its normal bunches rather than the tight bun she had for training.

"Much better. And I am not immature!"

"You put cling film on all the toilets in the city two months ago."

"Oh, I remember that." The assassin giggled as she cut across a courtyard.

"I still don't know how you managed to get the entire city covered in one night."[/b Stephano mused, eyes picking up every detail around him. He nodded towards the group of assassins as Astrid carried on her rambling.

"Hey! I know people who know people who know people." The young assassin answered, eyes flickering to her companion. The dragon bumped his head against her cheek and they carried on their way. At the door for the briefing room, Astrid paused.

"I don't wanna go in."

[b]"You have to."


"I really don't wanna go in."

"You don't have much choice in the matter, dear."

"Oh, Stephano. You don't seem to understand. I really do not want to enter this room and be shouted at."

"Oh Astrid. You don't seem to understand. I'm going to get a bollocksing for your stupidity. Now get in there."

"But moooooooooom."

"I will fry you where you stand, mortal. Now build a bridge and get over it." Stephano grumbled, tired and moody.

"Fine. But I don't want you to organise my funeral."

"No problem. Pink sparkly unicorn themed funeral it is."

"I fucking hate you Stephano."

"I do believe we've heard this before. And I know, dear." With that, Astrid pushed open the door, albiet with the minimal effort needed and found...an empty briefing room.

Well, almost empty.

"Fuka! ...Fooka...Fuky...Uhhh..." Astrid started and Stephano fought the urge to hit his head against something rather hard. Several times.

"I believe you mean Fukayna?"

"Yeah! That's what I meant!" Astrid exclaimed, hopping to sit on the table, her feet on a chair. "So. You in trouble too?"

"I don't think Fukayna is as stupid as you are and probably wouldn't get in same trouble you would." With that the dragon gave the other woman a little smile. The young assassin ignored her dragon's barb and carried on thinking out loud to herself.

"Oh. So I'm not in trouble! Well, that's good. I thought Sebastian was just being annoying again." With that, Astrid turned to the recruit and gave her a blinding grin.

"So, how's every little thing?" Stephano rolled his eyes and hopped off his perch. He landed on the table and lay down, eyes wide. He watched as his assassin tried to have a conversation with a mute.

Well. She had done strange things, Stephano had to say. The dragon moved forward until he was sitting beside his companion before turning his gaze to the new recruit. He was sure she had questions about Skyfall or even them. Most people had questions about Stephano and Astrid after meeting them. Therefore the little being plucked up his courage. The dragon decided to help out the other woman by asking her something in a very shy voice, a shadow of previous arguments with Astrid. Well, at least this recruit couldn't laugh at him. Out loud anyway.

"So, Is t-there any t-thing I can help you with? Any q-questions?" The dragon asked, his large gold eyes staring at the shiny table below his feet. Astrid couldn't help but smile. At least he was trying to talk to other people now. It was better than she being his bloody mouth piece.

The other assassin shook her head and tried to hide her ever increasing impatience at being kept waiting.

Because, my god, did she dislike waiting.

The setting changes from Skyfall to Lastra

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jennifer Live Character Portrait: Fukayna Muidrehd Character Portrait: Astrid T'vali Character Portrait: Xandur Character Portrait: Stephano
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Xandur

"Finally. Hopefully now I'll get some answers." Xandur said ass Skyfall came into view. Getting here had been no small feat, especially after that bright light from Torak. Mainly, he needed to exchange a few words with Jennifer. He.....sort of understood why she threw a boulder at him. What he didn't understand was how she threw it at him.

[RECAP]


V'lyn had rushed the Steward and it seemed the two were having a battle of strength, skill, magic and will. They seemed to goback and forth. Xandur was about to step in and help V'lyn, until Jennifer landed directly in his path. “Too bad for you, at this stage I don’t care about your intentions,” she smiled an oddly innocent smile and proceeded to materialize and launch a boulder the size of a carriage at him.

Like a reflex, Xandur's stone arm flew up and the markings grew bright. The boulder landed squarely in his stony palm. The shock of the hit caused Xandur to slide back a bit. The slide put unneeded pressure on his injured leg and forced him to his knee. His face twisted with pain. It felt as if his leg bones were staring to catch fire and melt his leg from the inside out.

In reaction to his pain, his gauntlets clawed finger began to dig in to the boulder. The sound caused him to look up from his leg, and realize that the boulder blocked his view from all. Xandur then remembered what was happening at the moment. That mage woman and her strange yet intriguing powers had stopped him from helping to save her Lord. He understood she was playing itself, but a boulder, truly?

The symbols of the gauntlet flashed suddenly and purple cracks filled the once empty space of the large rock. It then shattered, sending rock shrapnel everywhere. Still kneeling, Xandur surveyed the battle.

It seemed that Jennifer was exercising the better part of valor alongside V'lyn. He then looked over to Torak. He seethed with power, it seemed the very air around him to be distorted. He felt his Sight tugging at him, telling him there was more than there appeared to be. Even so.......it was nothing Xandur wished to See.

Well, this attempt to help a stranger had apparently landed him in situation where he was 20 feet from an Elf with enough power to level a city and half a mind to do so. While his own energy levels were rather lower and he was fairly certain he couldn't move his leg. So, in short, he was standing next to a massive time bomb with a broken leg at the top of a staircase.

He had hoped he would learn that going out of his way and helping people would only bite him in the ass, but he apparently never got the message. He assumed he was just one of those people. The vagrant didn't understand why, but he started laughing. First chuckling to himself, then it grew to a deep hearty bass laugh flowing from his diaphragm. Light, blinding light then filed his sight. The next moment, Xandur was surrounded by nothing except the sound of his own laughter.

Xandur's eye suddenly shot open and he sat up. He looked around and found himself to be on top of a smal hill in a clearing of trees. He quickly stood up and surveyed the area. Xandur then froze.....his leg, it no longer hurt. It was definitely sore, but beyond that, it seemed fine. He fell to his knees in utter bewilderment.

He was alive and unscathed. He thought he would've died in that.....whatever you want to call that blast of light from Torak's bracer. But, how? Just what had happened?

It was then he noticed that his shirt had a burn hole in it the same shape as his amulet....along with his flesh. He eyed it curiously. He then looked into the distance. "Who am I?"

He decided such profound questions were better thought on elsewhere. Now he had to decide, where to go from here? He had assumed that Jennifer and V'lyn had escaped. They seemed to know what the hell was going on. And Xandur was most likely certain that he would explode if he didn't figure out what exactly had happened back there. That meant going to Skyfall.

So......how would he find it. He wasn't even sure where he was now. How would he find them?

A thought surged through his head like a lightning bolt. You caught the boulder the mage threw at you with your gauntlet, that boulder she created. Use the residual magic to find her. Xandur held his head a moment in surprise at how fast the thought came. He looked around. "I can do that?"

Xandur lifted his stone gauntlet up and focused on Jennifer's magic, remembering the taste from earlier that day.......well, he hoped it was still the same day at least.

The gauntlet glowed and a purple energy floated up from the gauntlet and began to spin. After a few minutes of concentration, the longer end pointed off to his left. The one eyed man looked that way. "Well, I suppose it's a start. Which is more than I've had in awhile." With that, Xandur set off to find more answers.

[END RECAP]


Xandur had finally made it to the doors of the order of Riena. He took a deep breath and knocked three times. After awhile, the door was opened by a tall man in remotely formal attire. HE could tell just by staring at this man, that he was prepared to kill Xandur if necessary. Not that he would expect much else from an order of assassins. "Can I help you?" asked the man.

Xandur smiled."No, but Jennifer might. May I see her?"

The mans eyebrow raised slightly. "I'm afraid Lady Jennifer is rather busy tending with the recent events. If she is the only one that can help you, I'm going to have to ask you to come back later." The man said, attempting to shut the gate on him.

Xandur's hand shot out and slammed against the door that it surprised him. He sighed a very heavy sigh. He truly did not feel like talking his way in after the day he had. Neither was he going to cut his way through. He would have to resort to less than friendly abilities. He hated doing this.

He looked up at the man. "Actually, perhaps you can help me, I'm rather desperate." Xandur lifted up his hand and took off his eyepatch, revealing his scarred eye, closed.

"Oh?"

"Yes, it's my eye. Could you tell me if you see anything strange about it?" Then, his eye shot open. It pupil seemed to spin and whirl, the sclera suddenly glowing purple.

The second the man looked at it, his eyes went dead. After a few seconds, they lit back up. He shook his head, then looked back at Xandur, who was re positioning his eyepatch. He smiled. "Welcome home!"

Xandur smiled back at him. "Good to see you too, brother!" The two then hugged.

The man, who's name he now knew was Tiber, walked him into the Order. "You weren't due back for months! What are you doing back here so soon?"

Xandur then played worried. "Trouble I'm afraid. I can't tell you anything now. I must speak with Lord V'lyn or Lady Jennifer first. Though, you look tired, I think you should sleep."

"Sleep? Nonsense, I feel fine."

"Trust me.......sleep."

Tiber then yawned, licked his lips for a moment. He stumbled over to a bench and passed out on top of it.

Xandur sighed, he hated invading the minds of others, but he was just not in the mood for anything else at this moment. He distinguished the location that Jennifer might be, their conference room, which Xandur know knew the location of. V'lyn was most likely recovering from his duel with Torak, probably eating in his room. Xandur had decided that he should not trouble him.

Xandur made off for the conference room and found it within a minute. He had put up a mental barrier around himself to make any who looked upon him to believe that it was perfectly normal for him to be there.

Xandur casually opened the door to find, of all things, a Dragon laying on the conference table. It was a small thing, rather well looked after if the creatures rim middle was any indication. Their was also a girls who's hair had been touched by flame. Along with Fukayna, all sitting at the table. He put on his best smile and closed the door behind him.

"Hello there, Fukayna. Good to see you made it out of there in one piece. Am I assume young Armen and Fay X'san did as well? Good." he said casually as he walked over to the left of the room.

He then turned to the red haired girl. "Here's a face I do not recognize." he then looked to the dragon."Two faces actually. I'm Xandur. A pleasure." He said with a small bow. He then looked back and forth betwen them. "Now, could any of you tell me where Jennifer might be? There are some things I would very much like to discuss with her."

The setting changes from Lastra to Skyfall

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jennifer Live Character Portrait: Fukayna Muidrehd Character Portrait: Astrid T'vali Character Portrait: Xandur Character Portrait: Stephano
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"Now, could any of you tell me where Jennifer might be? There are some things I would very much like to discuss with her."

As if on cue, the double doors to the conference room burst apart as though they’d been rammed by Barthomel himself. Striding swiftly towards the stage, boots creating a clatter which echoed within the unoccupied chamber, came Jennifer. It wasn’t a walk so much as it was a march. Any faster and the mage would have broken into a run. Jennifer crossed the empty expanse towards the lectern, carved in the shape of Riena, and glanced idly down at the trio of people as she approached the center of the room.

“If you’d be as kind as to remove yourself from the table dear,” Jennifer gestured towards Stephano. The dragon scurried away, quick on the uptake as a small mountain of documents was dumped on top of the slab. The mage huffed, flexing her aching muscles as they were released from the strain, “Phoo. Look at this mess, it’s like I’ve become some bureaucratic desk sucker,” she frowned at the papers, hands at her hourglass hips.

“It seems we have an unexpected guest,” Jennifer smiled, observing the surprised and cautious expressions of Fukayna and Astrid with wry amusement. Like her words, the smile was devoid of any warmth. She waved to inform the duo to stand down. Poor Fukayna looked as dead in her seat as Jennifer felt, the dark complexion of her face so wane no amount of make-up would’ve concealed it. The contrast was especially stark next to the utterly exuberant character of Astrid, whose fiery enthusiasm gave even Jennifer pause.

The unexpected guest, named Xandur, inhabited the right outer most portion of the room, closest to the main entrance. His appearance was identical as it had been in Lethandrill. Young, but no older that someone in his mid-twenties. His presence was impossible to ignore however, tall and well constructed in ways a malnourished beggar could never hope to be. He nursed an eye patch and carried the faint aroma of dry winds. More concerning to Jennifer was the runic gauntlet which sheathed his entire left arm up to the elbow. Jennifer leaned over the table with mock authority, her dark eyes glinting maliciously, “You have a bad habit of being in the right place at the wrong time, Xandur. Maybe this time i should throw an even larger boulder...” she pondered in cheerfully clipped tones.

Jennifer ignored him for a moment. The information she was about to deliver was common knowledge anyway. “Lastra is in anarchy. As of sixteen hours ago, half of Lethandrill’s population was killed in a discharge of energy, magical in nature,” she started, nonchalantly flipping through the pages in one of her ledgers, “As Lethandrill’s neighbouring city, Skyfall will have to prepare themselves for an influx of refugees..." The report snapped shut with a flick of her fingers, the mage's other hand forming a beak and mimicking her words as she quacked it derisively, "This city is to assist in Lethandrill’s aid and recovery blah blah blah.” She never liked presenting, not in the martial prowess of Talon’s style anyway, “But, as the Order of Riena, this isn’t our primary concern.”

“I’m sure you’re all aware of the restrictions being pushed upon mages by the Order of Vlydi themselves. The political backlash of this recent disaster is huge. People haven’t seen this much destructive power since the last war. They’re scared, heck even I am. They will want closure, so we need to resolve this before things get even more out of hand. That will be your mission,” she concluded abruptly. Staring up from beneath bangs of blackest brown hair, occupying Jennifer’s gaze was the stranger again, “Now. Invading my conference will certainly get you my attention, but not the attention you’re hoping for. I’ll give you one chance to explain why you’re here.”

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jennifer Live Character Portrait: Fukayna Muidrehd Character Portrait: Astrid T'vali Character Portrait: Xandur Character Portrait: Stephano
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#, as written by Igari
The doors were pushed open and Fukayna immediately looked up, expecting to see the form of Jennifer but was instead greeting with the figure of Astrid and the lovely creature that was her dragon. The assassin's face was lit up in a wide grin that was the most prominent of her features. The silent girl shifted a bit awkwardly as the loud bantering of the girl bounded off the walls of the briefing hall. The volume of it all was enough to make anyone think the room was full of people, despite there only being the two of them. The blabbing continued and she did not even attempt to follow it. She was catching on fast that Astrid's mouth moved a mile a minute and the meaning of silence was lost to her.

The flame-headed girl focused her attentions on the smaller of the two, plopping down across from her with a larger grin. "So, how's every little thing?" Prompted by the wide-eyed gaze of her sister, Fukayna took out her pad and wrote slowly, carefully. She was taking her time intentionally, wanting to sneak looks at the cute creature perched upon the desk. Well that and she felt so awfully tired, it was hard to concentrate upon the parchment. She held up her response, her furs making a rustling noise as she moved her arm.

"Waiting for Miss Jennifer. I suppose you were called as well? A quick nod confirmed the question and Fukayna put her pad back down on her lap. Unexpectedly, it was the beautiful, brown dragon that spoke to her next. His voice was a bit faltering, oh! He could be adorable as well when he wanted to? How simply wondrous!

"So, Is t-there any t-thing I can help you with? Any q-questions?" Eee! Fukayna's cheeks warmed up with a blush of adoration for the dragon. She was so entranced by him, his wings were absolutely magnificent. Astrid didn't seem to appreciate him that much, given the way they bickered. Though... A quick gaze at his somewhat rounded belly indicated otherwise. If she didn't feel like she was about to pass out, she would've rushed to wrap her arms around the dragon's neck. He just seemed so intelligent and warm. Definitely cuddle-material. Fukayna made herself scribble on her pad faster this time, holding it out in front of him.

"Only one. Is Stephano really your name?" The dragon took a breath to answer but was cut off as a man walked into the room. Fukayna stared at him, his beggar's attire seemingly out of place. He was handsome, she supposed, but she couldn't really tell that well given what he was wearing. He smiled warmly at her, which caught her a bit off guard. She didn't have the faintest clue who he was.

"Hello there, Fukayna. Good to see you made it out of there in one piece. Am I assume young Armen and Fay X'san did as well? Good." Her breath hitched; how did he know her name? She furrowed her brows as she observed him cautiously underneath her bangs. His smile did not waver as he turned his attention to Astrid, who seemed to be muttering to herself under her breath. "Here's a face I do not recognize. Two faces actually. I'm Xandur. A pleasure. Now, could any of you tell me where Jennifer might be? There are some things I would very much like to discuss with her." For once, it seemed Astrid and Fukayna were in sync for the two looked at each other in mutual confusion and apprehension. They were saved from answering when the doors burst open with such force, it made Fukayna drop her notepad.

This time it really was Miss Jennifer who strode in, beautiful hips swaying as she made her way over to the desk. Her voice was pleasant but taxed, an edge of strain in it. “If you’d be as kind as to remove yourself from the table dear,” Stephano complied and trotted over to lay next to Astrid. A look suddenly came across the girl's face, as if some shocking realization had come over her belatedly. The flame-headed girl shot up, putting her hands on her hips and loudly yelling at Xandur from her perch.

[L] "You just HAD to interrupt. Stephano was talking to...Fuu...Faa...Fuck it, Sheep fur lady and you just BURST IN. Like, you know how often he talks to other people? Never! I admit, he's not going to get much of a vocal response but STILL." [L] The response was totally late, the proper moment for it had already passed the instant Miss Jennifer had walked into the room. The mage's look of reproach was so intense that it made Astrid pause and sit herself down properly, if in a pouty fashion.

Fukayna's eyes flit over to Xandur and for a second, she was sure she had seen doubles of him. She rubbed her eyes, swaying a bit. Her hand was shaking a little due to exhaustion but she needed to force herself to stay awake. Just a little longer until the briefing was over. She failed to hear what Miss Jennifer said to the strange man who identified himself as Xandur but when she listened in, it seemed the mage was already moving on.

“Lastra is in anarchy. As of sixteen hours ago, half of Lethandrill’s population was killed in a discharge of energy, magical in nature. As Lethandrill’s neighbouring city, Skyfall will have to prepare themselves for an influx of refugees...This city is to assist in Lethandrill’s aid and recovery blah blah blah.” Fukayna managed a weak laugh. The mage had an interesting way about her, going from chilled tones to blatantly casual ones so easily. The woman lowered the hand she was using to make childish talking gestures with as she finished up her briefing.

“But, as the Order of Riena, this isn’t our primary concern. I’m sure you’re all aware of the restrictions being pushed upon mages by the Order of Vlydi themselves. The political backlash of this recent disaster is huge. People haven’t seen this much destructive power since the last war. They’re scared, heck even I am. They will want closure, so we need to resolve this before things get even more out of hand. That will be your mission,” If it was thought that her complexion couldn't have paled anymore, Fukayna proved this wrong as all remaining color left her face. Vyldi...? They were going to have to go to Vyldi?

She made to get up in protest. She couldn't go back there, she couldn't possibly... She had to tell Miss Jennifer, but what was she supposed to say? She hadn't told anyone what she used to be and was pretty sure it wasn't on any of her records. Her mind raced with thoughts but her exhausted body wasn't able to take the additional strain of her worries and she trembled a bit. Her vision tinted at the edges with black and she winced as she tried to remain upright. But it did her no good as she stumbled and her legs gave way, the girl already passed out before she reached the ground.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jennifer Live Character Portrait: Talon V'lyn Character Portrait: Khrae Var Character Portrait: Armen Sorien Character Portrait: Fukayna Muidrehd Character Portrait: Dante Fuuriah
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#, as written by Siryn
Armen Sorien

"Hello there, Fukayna. Good to see you made it out of there in one piece. Am I assume young Armen and Fay X'san did as well? Good."

He looked up sharply at the voice and didn't recognize who it was that spoke. The man was about his height with a stone gauntlet over his entire forearm, an eye patch and a kind of aura hanging around him that put Armen on edge. Since coming to Skyfall, he'd had his wounds treated and had something to eat and drink. He still felt sore all over and a bit on the exhausted side, but he held on to staying awake for a while longer. He'd been summoned to see the woman who was the shadow to the order of Riena and he was intrigued about her.

At first he'd wondered where the man was, the 'Lord V'lyn', but didn't ask. Instead his concentration was torn from the stranger who had burst in, to the woman who came right after him. Her sharp gaze pierced everyone around the room and Armen felt a cold chill in his bones. She didn't seem all that pleasant, how did the Lord V'lyn love a woman like that? The elf shook his head slightly and decided it was none of his business and concentrated on her words.

His eyes shifted to the red haired woman with the dragon as she stood abruptly and began yelling at the stranger who had walked in. It had been several minutes since he'd made his presence clear and Armen wondered what exactly the girl was thinking. However, a sharp look from the woman, who could have only been the Lady Jennifer Live that nearly everyone knew about in Lastra, quieted the girl. A second after and the briefing began, though it was clear that Lady Jennifer wasn't accustomed to doing such things, nor did she seem to have any interest in it either.

“Lastra is in anarchy. As of sixteen hours ago, half of Lethandrill’s population was killed in a discharge of energy, magical in nature. As Lethandrill’s neighboring city, Skyfall will have to prepare themselves for an influx of refugees...This city is to assist in Lethandrill’s aid and recovery blah blah blah.“But, as the Order of Riena, this isn’t our primary concern. I’m sure you’re all aware of the restrictions being pushed upon mages by the Order of Vlydi themselves. The political backlash of this recent disaster is huge. People haven’t seen this much destructive power since the last war. They’re scared, heck even I am. They will want closure, so we need to resolve this before things get even more out of hand. That will be your mission,”[/b] Jennifer finished and looked up at them all. Her dark, but beautiful, gaze swept across them once more.

Fukayna, who had rescued him from the dungeons, stood abruptly and made to go towards Jennifer. However, the young assassin didn't make it in time and promptly collapsed onto the floor. Armen jumped forward and rushed around the chair that he'd been standing behind to reach the girl. Kneeling next to her, he gently lifted her up into his lap and felt her face and neck. The poor thing was exhausted, much like himself. He looked up at Jennifer and offered her a slight smile.

"Just, tired," he said slowly, unsure of how to act around the powerful mage, "Perhaps we should all get some rest before we leave?"

Fay X'san

Her eyes widened at the end of Jennifer's statement. They were going to Ro'ell next. The things that she could obtain there... the knowledge about her power, the knowledge about her kind and how they came about... everything was there. Fay couldn't have been more excited in her life. She was more determined than ever to prove to the entire world of Lastra that the Navile were of no threat to them at all. Oh, how she wished her clan could have been there with her. In time... in time, she thought to herself.

Then the girl with white hair stood and collapsed. In a matter of seconds the young elf named Armen was next to her, concern driving his actions. Fay had even started forward to tend to the girl, but realized there wasn't much she could do. Instead, Fay stood next to the chair where she'd been at during the entire meeting. Her eyes settled on the stranger who had joined in at the beginning quite suddenly. She didn't even remember seeing him in Lethandrill, but for some reason he'd known her name. She wasn't sure how to go about that.

After being reassured by Armen that the young assassin was alright, Fay turned to Jennifer, "I agree, Lady Jennifer, we should rest before we start for Ro'ell, though I'm anxious to go myself," she said gently, bringing her fingers together before her, each slender finger slowly curling around one another as she stood there, "I'd like to see the rest of your grand Guild, if that's alright?"

The door opened a third time then and before her stood the tall man whom she'd first seen in Lethandrill. It was the Lord V'lyn and he looked utterly worn out. How he was still standing, Fay didn't know, but her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in a small 'o' of surprise as he stood in the doorway.

"I appreciate you're taking care of this, Jennifer," he said gently to the mage, his tone holding the thick layers of his pure affection and love for the woman. His gaze was soft on her as well. However, that all changed as he turned to look at the rest of them. His lips pulled into a deep frown as he set eyes upon the red haired assassin, though he didn't say anything to her. Lord V'lyn's steely grey-blue eyes turned towards Fay.

"You may look around as you please, just take care as to not get lost or get in the way of anyone," he said and stepped aside from the doorway, allowing the lithe Navile passage through.

"Thank you," she beamed at him, her curiosity overtaking her once more. She looked around to everyone, feeling a bit embarrassed as to leave so suddenly, but she didn't think she could stay cramped up in that room for very much longer. Not to mention she had nothing else to add to the current situation. It was all pretty clear to her at the moment, their next objective was Ro'ell. From there, they would figure things out.

Fay left the meeting room and immediately went down the stairs. The first place she wanted to see was the courtyard. She'd seen it from the window of her guest room and had witnessed several new recruits sparring out in the yard. It had warranted the highest part of her curiosity. However, when she got out there, no one was there except for two men, one was on the ground, cross legged and looking terribly inconvenienced. The other was pacing. As she gazed at them, she finally recognized them to be the two men that had been in the forest of Lethandrill right when she'd been fleeing the city with Armen on horseback.

The young boy was most intriguing to her, especially since every now and then he would open his eyes, give the taller man a sour look and then promptly get smacked in the back of his head. The taller man hadn't even had to look at the one seated to know what was happening. It must have been happened often enough. Fay moved swiftly, her body carrying her lightly across the courtyard until she was right in front of the boy. He was obviously trying to meditate and he was failing miserably at it.

So, Fay sat down gently in front of him, her legs crossed as well, her back straight and her arms resting over her knees. Her eyes watched the boy carefully as she waited for him to open his eyes once more. Fay turned her head ever so slightly, the strands of hair loose from the top half being pulled back, fell off to the side to gently sway across her bare shoulder. When the boy opened his eyes she beamed at him.

"You're meditating isn't very good," she commented with a slight laugh. Then she leaned forward, coming very close to him, "Would you like me to show you?"

Talon V'lyn

He woke up groggy, his head felt like it was going to explode from the amount of pressure that was building. However, he couldn't have stayed asleep any longer. Glancing down at his form, he noted that he was shirtless and laying stretched out on a table in the center of his room that he shared with Jennifer. How he'd gotten there he didn't remember, all that came to mind was the fight in Lethandrill and what they had to do next. Ro'ell was their best shot and figuring things out, especially about the gauntlet.

Pushing himself up he moved as quickly as his tired body would allow and pulled on his leather shirt that held all of his weapons. Tightening down the long sleeves, he turned to the door and exited. His elder assassin, Sebastian caught sight of him and ushered towards him. The man eyed the Lord up and down before frowning.

"You shouldn't be walking around."

"There's a lot of things I 'shouldn't' do that I still do. You should know by now that I'm not one to listen all that well, Sebastian. Where is my lovely mage and the rag-tag group that we met in Lethandrill?"

"She gathered them together and is having a meeting with them right now, my Lord, there is another party that wishes to have your attention. Your esteemed mage turned them away quite nicely, or at least put them off for a little while. You should speak to them if you're up to it."

"Who are they?"

"Two men from a clan named the 'Phoenix'. They wish to have an audience with you as soon as possible."

"Then they need not wait any longer, damn that woman... Why didn't she wake me up for this?" Talon complained as he straightened his armor.

"My Lord," Sebastian started.

"Talon is just fine, Sebastian, stop calling me that... I swear by Riena.. we've known each other long enough."

The old assassin sighed and then gave him a sly grin, "You know damn well that should anyone have disturbed you after that injury, Jennifer would have incinerated them on the spot, Talon."

"Sometimes that woman drives me insane."

"You're no spring chicken anymore, Talon. A hit like that could have very easily killed you," Sebastian commented sharply.

"You're not getting any younger either, old man. Besides, she's got nothing to worry about. I'm just fine, we both should know that well enough."

"Keep pushing yourself like you are and I won't be surprised if she locks you in a dark room for the rest of your very long lives."

Talon laughed to this and waved his hand at Sebastian, dismissing him officially, "Training tonight, Sebastian. Lets see if your still as sharp as your tongue," the Lord V'lyn opened the door to the meeting room just as it was ending and caught the last portion of the Navile's question.

After giving her leave to run about the Guild halls, he turned to Jennifer once more as he spoke to the rest of them, "Astrid, you know what you should be doing right now. Elf, take Fukayna to her room, it's just down the hall," he waved his hand in the direction, "Jennifer, I know what you're going to say, but I-" he stopped mid sentence after the elf had left with Fukayna and Astrid had scurried away with her dragon. There was one person left in attendance that he hadn't noticed standing at the back of the room.

He raised an eyebrow and the recognized him as the man who'd interfered in Lethandrill. Turning slightly to face the man he crossed his arms. With a sigh of frustration he looked back down at Jennifer, "Sometimes I wonder if my work will ever end. I have company downstairs I suppose, two men from a clan of Phoenix as they've called themselves. I'll bring them here and we can deal with both of these... guests, in one shot shall we?" Talon said as he leveled his cool gaze at the man across the room. With that he left to seek out the other two men who required his attention.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jennifer Live Character Portrait: Talon V'lyn Character Portrait: Armen Sorien Character Portrait: Fukayna Muidrehd Character Portrait: Astrid T'vali Character Portrait: Xandur
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It was sound that first alerted her to Fukayna’s predicament, the sound of wood scrapping against marble as someone’s seat drew backwards. Her attention flickered from Xandur to the source of the interruption and within that moment she saw the dark woman lurch precariously, knees quaking. If she could have seen the assassin’s eyes, Jennifer was positive she would have seen whites for she knew what to expect already. Fukayna transformed into a blur of mottled gray, her wolf pelts trailing after her as exhaustion gripped the young initiate.

Before she could hit the ground, Jennifer’s arm extended out, a hushed whisper escaping the mage’s red lips, “World Fractu-”

The elf prisoner burst forwards before she could act. Jennifer’s eye twitched madly at the intruder. Where he’d come from, she didn’t know, but seeing as the Navile woman had simultaneously materialised alongside him, both must’ve snuck in together. The elf’s firm reach arrested Fukayna’s fall neatly, levitating her supple form a dozen centimetres above the hard ground. Jennifer grimaced as she suppressed the rest of her powers, an uncomfortable tingling sensation rippling up the entire length of her out stretched arm. If Talon hadn’t of shared his brace’s magic with her the other day, she might’ve been the one to faint. Thankfully she didn’t, Fukayna on the other hand looked deathly pale, sickly almost. Perspiration iced the surface of her chestnut skin, but before the assassin collapsed Jennifer was certain she saw a different emotion expressed within the initiate’s trembling features. Jennifer was certain she saw fear.

"Just, tired. Perhaps we should all get some rest before we leave?" the elf suggested after some initial observation. His hands pressed gently against Fukayna’s brow and neck, checking for temperature and heartbeat. First Talon and now Fukayna, why am I always the one left to clean up? Jennifer scratched the back of her head, lamenting over the unfathomable fact.

"I agree, Lady Jennifer, we should rest before we start for Ro'ell, though I'm anxious to go myself.” Fay interjected, drawing her ire immediately. Jennifer’s almond eyes snapped at the Navile dangerously, like a scope locked onto its target. Scowling, the mage lowered her hands to the table, fists clenched white. “I'd like to see the rest of your grand Guild, if that's alright?"

“Look, this isn’t some touri-“

"I appreciate you're taking care of this, Jennifer,"

Jennifer’s eyes widened at the voice and her back straightened instinctively. All words dropped from her thoughts as flustered concern and then fury became etched within her sharp features. Why wasn’t he still resting? The mage started to speak but staggered as her dark eyes met with his gaze. As Talon stared at her, his scrutiny seemed to pierce the faded light of the conference room, preventing her from looking away. If Talon noticed the effect of his words, he did not pause.

"You may look around as you please, just take care as to not get lost or get in the way of anyone," Talon responded.

“You’re going to trust these people just like that?!” Jennifer protested, the mage finally finding her voice.

"Jennifer, I know what you're going to say, but I-“ Talon hesitated as he detected Xandur in the far side of the room. Xandur had remained unnervingly motionless throughout the sudden exchange, or if he had made a move Jennifer hadn’t noticed it. Like a statue, he stood as if his entire body composed of the stony substance which made up his gauntlet. "Sometimes I wonder if my work will ever end. I have company downstairs I suppose, two men from a clan of Phoenix as they've called themselves. I'll bring them here and we can deal with both of these... guests, in one shot shall we?”

Jennifer gave a hollow laugh as Talon stepped away. “You know what I’m going to say yet you ignore it anyway,” she smiled with a slight shake of her head, “I hardly see the purpose in me remaining.”

In spite of her words, the mage sashayed herself over to the closet seat. Arms folded, it appeared she couldn’t leave the assassin alone, no matter how much he frustrated her.